Loving You
by usakitten
Summary: Achilles and Briseis fall in love, things with the movie are tied into it, but this is a story all its own... PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Default Chapter

Hey, this is my first fanfic, so sorry if it sounds inexperienced. I didn't read the Iliad so the story isn't gonna be based off that. I LOVE the movie, but not everything is gonna be based off of the movie either. So RR.

Oh, and if you must flame, please don't be rude and obnoxious about it, thanks!

And also, I don't own anyone in Troy blah, blah, blah…

-

Chapter One

For Briseis it would be just a normal day in the great city of Troy. She would wake up, say her prayers and make her way to the temple of the sun God Apollo, where she would spend the rest of her day serving him until the moon was in the sky.

Briseis was a devoted priestess, who took the Gods seriously and had decided to dedicate her life to serving Apollo. She was a beautiful girl, and all of her family loved her and respected her. For Briseis was not only a stunning beauty, but she was remarkably wise for a girl of only 20. In fact it was not uncommon for her two older cousins Paris or Hector to come to her quarters to ask for her advice on some matter that was troubling them.

She missed her cousins dearly and prayed to Poseidon for their safe journey home from the Greek city of Sparta across the Aegean Sea. They were set to come home today and she couldn't wait. They had gone to Sparta to ensure peace between the two cities. You see, Paris and Hector were the sons of King Priam and the crowned princes of Troy, which also made Briseis royalty. Briseis' parents had died when she was barely a toddler, and she had essentially no memory of them whatsoever, so she looked at her uncle to be her father, and her cousins to be her brothers.

It was mid morning with the sun high in the sky, and Briseis was in her bedroom getting ready to walk down to the temple. She had just taken her bath and her servant, Irisa, dried her off and was helping her put on her blue and white virgin robe.

"It's a beautiful morning my lady, not a cloud in the sky," Irisa commented looking out at the clear blue sky as she tied Briseis robe in the back. Briseis turned her head to look over to see out side her large open windows.

"Yes, I see it is. Apollo has blessed us with a beautiful day," Briseis said smiling as she walked over to her balcony. She looked down at all the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Briseis loved her home; she loved everything about it; from the way the waves of the Aegean crashed upon the sandy shores of the beautiful beach to the way it smelled after it had just rained after a long dry season. Yes, Briseis loved Troy and she knew that deep down in her heart she could live no place else.

Briseis smiled to herself and left her balcony and walked over to her golden vanity. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and studied her face. She supposed she was pretty… in her own way. She looked at her long russet wavy hair that matched her radiant brown eyes set against her slightly tanned skin, and sighed. Briseis was happy with herself but she had always wished she was one of those beautiful sun kissed beauties, like the ones that lived in Greece, with honey blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. 'Oh well…' Briseis thought to herself as she picked up a golden hair clip and arranged it in her hair. Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a soft knock on her wooden door.

"Who is it?" She asked, still looking in the mirror, running her hands through her long brown curls.

"It is me, my lady," Briseis heard another one of her young handmaiden that she recognized to be Adara say through the door. Briseis took one last look at herself and left the mirror and went to unlock and open the door.

"My lady, King Priam wished for me to tell you that Prince Hector and Prince Paris have arrived." As soon as Adara finished, a bright smile immediately spread across Briseis' lips, as she picked up the bottom of her robe and ran past Adara, down the hall and down the steps. She got to the entrance room of the palace in record time, and Paris was the first one she saw.

"Paris!" she screeched happily as she ran into his arms.

"Briseis!" They hugged and he let go and looked at her. "Beloved cousin, your beauty grows with each new moon." Briseis smiled and blushed. She noticed her uncle and Hector out of the corner of her eye, and turned to smile at her older cousin.

"Briseis..." Hector smiled embracing her. "A servant of Apollo now" He asked noticing her robe.

"The young men of Troy were devastated when Briseis chose the virgin robe" Priam stated proudly looking at his beautiful niece.

Briseis smiled and blushed at the compliment, happy to have her much-loved cousins home. She turned and noticed a very beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair, whom she had never seen before, standing a little bit behind Paris. Paris noticed her looking and grabbed Helen's hand bringing her forward to meet Briseis.

"Cousin, this is Helen," Paris said looking at Briseis "And Helen, this is my dear cousin Briseis." Helen smiled at her, while Briseis looked at her warily. As soon as she had heard the girl's name and saw how beautiful she was, she new it had to be Helen of Sparta, wife of King Menelaus. But why was she here to Troy? Why was she here with Paris? Well Briseis was smart enough to guess that question, but still all sorts of things were running through Briseis' mind as she looked between Helen and Paris, and she knew she had to have a word with Paris.

-

It was dusk and Briseis was on her way back to the palace after spending the day praying in Apollo's temple. She had spent her day praying for her country and Paris' protection, because she knew that Helen would surely bring trouble.

When she was inside the palace she made her way to Paris' quarters instead of her own, and knocked on his door. A few seconds later, to Briseis' surprise Helen answered the door, instead of Paris.

"Hello Briseis," Helen greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Excuse me but I wish to speak with Paris," Briseis said looking behind Helen, further into the room seeing Paris coming up behind Helen. "Paris would you like to take a walk with me in the gardens?" she asked. Paris nodded in return, and told Helen he would be back soon before joining his cousin.

They made their way down the steps and into the beautiful gardens outside beside the palace.

"I know what it is that you want to speak with me about…" Paris trailed off looking at her.

"Paris… do you know what you have done?" Briseis asked him sharply. "You have brought damnation on your city! The Gods will curse us, for this!" she scolded him; her piercing brown eyes could have burned a hole through him.

"But I love her, Briseis! There is nothing for me to do. The Gods will not curse us, cousin, for it is the Gods that have brought us together!" Paris reasoned.

"I hope what you say is true, for I have spent all of today praying to Apollo on this matter, and I am scared for you Paris. I am scared for you, and I am scared for our people. What will you do if a war is started over this girl? Or shall I say when a war is started? What will you do then?" Briseis cried, so angry with her foolish cousin. Paris stared at the ground, not knowing what to say. Briseis took two deep breaths to calm herself before she spoke again.

"Did Hector know of this?" Paris kept his head down and shook his head no, shamefully. Briseis let out a breath of air and realized maybe she shouldn't have yelled at her cousin, but how could he have been so selfish? She brought her hands to his face and lifted it up so she could look at him. She was shocked when she saw unshed tears brewing in his deep brown eyes. Her heart went out to him, and she brought him into her for a warm embrace and rubbed his back. Paris was still such a little boy, who at times needed to be comforted.

"Why do you cry?" she asked him in a soft whisper, suddenly feeling bad for being so harsh to him. He let go of her to look into her eyes.

"I cry because what you say is true, all of it. I know I can't live without Helen, but I also can't live with knowing that I would be responsible for the death of my countrymen." Paris confessed. "Briseis, what should I do?" he asked, urgently needing her guidance. "You're a priestess of Apollo… I have faith that you know what to do," he said desperately.

"There is nothing for you to do. What's done is done. We must leave it up to the Gods now cousin. Troy is a servant of Apollo, I have faith he will watch over us," she tried to assure him… also trying to assure herself as well.

Hey thanks for reading chapter one! Did you like it or not? Review please!


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

A week had passed since Hector and Paris had come home, and life in Troy went on as it usually did. Until those dreadful sails had appeared on the crystal blue horizon.

The Trojan soldiers on the high towers rang the warning gongs and the people of the city immediately started to run around frantically. As soon as Prince Hector heard the gongs he hurriedly went to gather his army to prepare for the battle he knew would come.

When the ships had hit the beach, it was clear from the start that the Greeks would win this battle. The first Trojans to make it to the beach were easily slaughtered, and Hector realized his army would have no choice but to retreat. The retreat was called and whatever Trojans that were alive recoiled back to their high walls.

Meanwhile, Briseis, who was in the temple, had heard the battle cries from outside and hid underneath a wooden table with the two other priests, praying to Apollo that they would make it out alive.

Briseis' heart was beating a mile a minute, and for a moment she thought that it would explode in her chest, when she heard the Greeks coming into the temple. She closed her eyes tight and prayed as hard as she could.

She heard the soldiers rummaging through all of the treasures in the temple, and she silently hoped Apollo would strike these thieves down for stealing from his temple.

"Look at all this gold! We will be rich men after this, boys!" She heard one of the men say joyously. The other men cheered, and grabbed whatever they could find. They continued to talk amongst themselves, and Briseis almost thought they would not notice her and the priests…but she was wrong.

"Hey… I think we have company!" One of the men said pointing to the three figures curled up underneath a small table in the corner. All at once the men turned to look at what he was talking about. The soldier overturned the table and the three of them were exposed. Briseis couldn't help the tears that were steadily falling down her face as she thought about meeting her death.

"Well look what we have here! Trojan priests, and a priestess!" the same man said, and the soldiers pulled them up.

"Please, I beg of you don't kill me! Please!" One of the priests begged, but to no avail as he was quickly killed, as was the other one. Briseis closed her eyes and waited for the lethal blow that she knew would come. When she felt nothing, she slowly opened her eyes, to see all of the men looking at her. It was when she saw the look in her eyes, was when she realized they were going to do something much worse to her than killing her.

"Well isn't she pretty!" One of the men remarked as he tried to lift up her robe.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled slapping his grimy hand away.

"You Trojan bitch!" he yelled slapping her to ground, as the other men laughed at her cries. She felt the men roughly pick her up, and it was then that she wished had been as lucky as the priests.

"What should we do with her?" One soldier who looked like he really needed to take a bath asked the rest of the men.

"I'll have her first!" One man said all too eagerly, pushing the other men aside..

"You're not the leader, who says you can have her first?" Another man challenged.

"Achilles will have her first!" A soldier with blue eyes suddenly cut in, and the other men all seemed to agree. "Take her to his hut and bind her."

-

Briseis stared at the floor wondering what she had done to anger Apollo so and why he had let her become a captive, as she sat in the warrior named Achilles' hut. She couldn't help but be scared thinking of what would happen to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked up and saw two men, one of whom was the soldier with blue eyes from before. She didn't even hear what they were saying because her heart was beating so loud in her chest. 'Apollo please protect me' she prayed silently to herself, closing her eyes. She looked up again and the soldier from before was gone, leaving who she assumed was Achilles. She looked away and continued to stare at the floor. Until she heard his deep voice speak.

"What's your name?" he asked. Briseis turned to look at him, and noticed he wasn't looking back at her, but he was undressing. Briseis turned back around, she refused to talk to this killer who had no doubt murdered her countrymen.

"Did you not hear me?" He asked her a bit annoyed, walking over to the washbowl.

"You killed Apollo's priests!" she snapped.

"I've killed men in five countries, never a priest." Achilles said, splashing water on his face.

"Well then your men did!" she scowled at him "The sun god will have his vengeance."

"What's he waiting for?" he asked indifferently.

"The right time to strike!" she assured him.

"His priests are dead, and his acolyte's a captive. I think your God is afraid of me…" he stated arrogantly.

"Afraid?" Briseis said incredulously. "Apollo is master of the sun! He fears nothing!"

"Then where is he!" he shot back his blue eyes piercing through her.

"You're nothing but a killer!" She yelled disgusted by him. "You wouldn't know anything about the Gods!"

He laughed and splashed water on her. "I know more about the Gods than your priests do…I've seen them." He bragged, as Briseis rolled her eyes.

He tied some cloth around his waste and slowly walked over to her. She hesitantly looked up at him, and she hated to admit it but she realized if it had been under different circumstance she would've thought he was really sexy. His crystal blue eyes, and his golden blonde hair, and his body! He looked like a God! But Briseis hardly noticed, because all she could think of was what a monster he was when she saw blood all over his hard body, most definitely Trojan blood.

She noticed him staring at her, and it was really starting to unnerve her. 'What is he looking at?" she thought.

For the first time since Achilles had walked into the hut he had realized how truly striking this girl was. 'Pretty girl…' he thought to himself as he took in her long silky hair that was a bit messed up from the rough day he knew she had undoubtedly had, her deep almond eyes, and her perfect pink lips. And in his mind he couldn't help but imagine what was under that robe.

"You're royalty aren't you?" He stated more than asked. "You've spent years talking down to men." He said as he leaned down and picked up a handful of her soft locks and brought it up to his face to smell it. Briseis looked at him strangely and he smirked as he dropped her hair and stood up straight again.

"You must be royalty." He paused to look at her. "What's your name?" He asked her again. He became a little annoyed when she didn't answer him. "Even the servants of Apollo have names." He said bending down to untie her wrists. She looked at him suspiciously, wondering why he had decided to untie her.

"Briseis," she said looking at him, while rubbing her sore wrists.

"Are you afraid Briseis?" he asked, staring at her pretty face.

"Should I be?" She asked him honestly. Achilles said nothing as his intense eyes bore into her. "What do you want here in Troy? You didn't come for the Spartan queen."

"I want what all men want… I just want it more," he told her.

Briseis looked up and saw that the soldier with the blue eyes had poked his head into the hut.

"My lord, Agamemnon requests your presence," he told him, as Achilles continued to stare at Briseis. "The kings are gathering to celebrate the victory." Achilles turned to look at the soldier.

"Eudorus, you fought well today," he complimented him, and could see a faint smile his face as he bowed his head and left. There was silence for a few minutes until Achilles spoke.

"You don't need to fear me girl, you're the only Trojan who can say that," he said as he got up and turned around to go get a drink from his jug of water.

"Well then, what is it you want from me? Let me go, I have no reason for being here." Briseis said to him, her eyes pleading. Achilles turned around and gave her a devilish smile. He walked back over to her and leaned down so his face was close her hers.

"Not until I've gotten to know you better…" he whispered, looking at her suggestively. Briseis shuddered, disgusted by his presence. She narrowed her eyes and with all her courage, she spit right in his face. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the hit that she knew would come, but to her surprise she heard a deep chuckle instead. She opened her eyes hesitantly and saw him wipe his face of with his index finger.

"You have courage Briseis… I could kill you, you know," he said looking intently at her.

"That's the least of my worries," she said boldly. He chuckled again, and got up and started to put on his black breastplate. "You laugh, but I have courage enough to kill you!"

When Achilles heard her say that, he turned around and looked at her unbelievingly; his eyebrows raised on his forehead. She dared to threaten his life? The great Achilles? Not even the bravest of warriors were spirited enough to do that. This girl was unlike anyone Achilles had ever met.

"Do you know who I am girl?" He asked her expectantly, folding his arms over his broad chest.

"Do I care who you are?" Briseis mocked him, rolling her eyes. Achilles huffed, amazed at this girl's strong spirit. He decided he should go before she got too bold.

"I will be back, Briseis. If you leave this hut, I assure you that the men will most definitely have their way with you." He warned her, putting on his brown sandals. "But if you stay, I give you my word that I will protect you." And with that promise he left.

-

Thanks for reading! Now please review!


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Achilles left Briseis in his hut and made his way to Agamemnon's tent. The whole way there he couldn't help but think about her. She was different from anyone he had ever met in his war-filled life, and he knew that he would truly enjoy her company.

He entered the tent and was disgusted when he saw all of the kings of Greece basically bowing down to Agamemnon. Achilles hated Agamemnon with a burning passion. He thought the man was an arrogant fool who had no right to be a king of Greece, and he couldn't wait for the day he would see Agamemnon fall.

Achilles stood up tall making his presence known. Agamemnon immediately noticed him standing there and dismissed all of the other kings.

The Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, walked casually up to Achilles.

"War is young men dying and old men talking. You know this, ignore the politics," he said with a warm smile, patting him on his upper arm.

The two men were silent for a moment, as they stared each other down in an intense gaze; until Achilles walked up and spoke.

"Apparently you won some great victory," Achilles mocked him, with a sly smirk. But it didn't faze Agamemnon.

"Ah, perhaps you didn't notice. The Trojan beach belonged to Priam in the morning. It belongs to Agamemnon in the afternoon!" Agamemnon boasted.

"You can have the beach, I didn't come here for sand," Achilles said, as he started pacing.

"No… you came here because you want your name to last through the ages," he said knowingly. He paused for a second before continuing on. "A great victory was won today, but that victory was not yours. Kings did not kneel to Achilles. Kings did not pay homage to Achilles!"

"Well perhaps the kings were too far behind to see… the soldiers won the battle-"

"History remembers kings! Not soldiers" Agamemnon interjected loudly. "Tomorrow we'll batter down the gates of Troy."

"Careful king of kings, first you need the victory." Agamemnon narrowed his eyes at him, really getting annoyed with him.

"Your men sacked the temple of Apollo, yes?"

"You want gold? Take it; it's my gift to honor your courage. Take what you wish." Achilles saw a devious smile creep on to Agamemnon's wrinkled face.

"I already have…" Achilles narrowed his eyes at him, not understanding what he meant. Agamemnon called two of his guards in, and Achilles turned around and he was immediately infuriated when he saw a bruised and beaten Briseis trying to free herself from the men's grasps. "The spoils of war," Agamemnon chuckled.

"No argument with you brothers, but if you don't release her you will never see home again. Decide!" He roared as his hand went for his sword.

"Guards!" Agamemnon yelled as about five guards came rushing into the tent. Briseis looked around frantically at all of the madness, she would not let another life be taken today, and especially not over her. She decided she had to do something, for she knew Achilles would most definitely kill these men.

"STOP!" she shouted desperately, breaking free of the men's hold on her. She looked at all of the shocked faces of the men. "Too many men have died today." She directed her next comment towards Achilles. "If killing is your only talent, that's your curse. I don't want anyone dying for me." Briseis said bitterly.

Everyone watched as Achilles, sword still in position, just stood still thinking about Briseis' words. After a moment of contemplation he dropped his sword. Agamemnon let out an astonished chuckle.

"Mighty Achilles! Silenced, by a slave girl!" Agamemnon smirked, as he walked over to her. He was obviously enjoying seeing Achilles so livid.

"She's not a slave, you swine," Achilles stated lowly, his anger apparent in his cerulean eyes.

"Tonight… I'll have her give me a bath. And then…. who knows," he smiled smugly at Achilles, who could hardly contain his temper.

"You sack of wine!" he growled, wishing he could do something. He took his sword and pointed it directly at the evil old king. "Before my time is done, I will look down on your corpse and smile," Achilles promised him with a grizzly earnestness, before storming out of the tent.

-

It was the next night and Achilles was sitting on his furs in his hut, still infuriated over yesterday's events. He couldn't believe Agamemnon would take Briseis from him, she was his, damnit! She was his company to keep, not Agamemnon's! He knew Agamemnon only did it to prove a point and Achilles hated that he couldn't do anything.

For some reason even though Achilles was mad that his pride was hurt, he was even more mad that Briseis was taken from him. Even though he had only known her for maybe an hour, he knew that he wanted to hear more of what she had to say, and he knew that she was no ordinary girl. And not to mention Achilles knew he really wouldn't mind looking at her.

He closed his eyes and tried to imagine her long cascading dark hair that pooled over her slender shoulders. Achilles didn't know what her body looked like, but his imagination was definitely running wild. Achilles groaned in frustration at himself. She was just a stupid Trojan girl! So why was he acting like he had never seen a beautiful woman before?

Achilles was baffled by his thoughts, and he knew he needed the touch of a woman to get rid of his aggravation. He got up and left his hut, to go look for some whore to ease his thoughts.

-

It was much later that night, and Briseis had found herself alone, balled up in a corner in Agamemnon's chambers, waiting for him to come in. 'What a day from Hades this has been!' she thought grimly to herself, as she thought of all the bad stuff that she had endured in just one day… and it was all because of Paris! 'Damn you Paris! If you just hadn't brought that whore to Troy,' she thought bitterly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Agamemnon enter. She looked up and she almost vomited when she saw that he had no shirt on, just a big fat chest filled with thick gray and brown hair. Briseis had to control the bile that was rising up the back of her throat. She curled herself up in a tighter ball trying to get as small as she could, hoping he wouldn't see her, but unfortunately he did.

"Get up," he ordered. But Briseis looked at him defiantly, as she remained sitting. Agamemnon looked at her wide-eyed shocked that she would openly defy him. "Did you not hear me girl? Stand before your king!" he commanded.

"You are not my king," Briseis growled in a low voice.

"What did you say Trojan!" His voice booming as he pulled her up by her hair. Briseis cried out from the sharp pain, but she forced back the tears that she felt coming; she would not to let this monster see her cry. "I am you're king, you Trojan whore!"

"King Priam is my king. You are nothing but a sorry excuse for royalty, and I pity anyone who is forced to serve you." As soon as she said those words, Agamemnon laid a thunderous slap on her face, which split the side of her bottom lip open and caused her to fall hard onto the cold floor.

"Say that again girl and I will make sure you will never see another sunrise again…" he threatened. After a short tense pause he spoke again. "Soon Troy will be mine, and King Priam will bow down to me! Agamemnon! I will break down Troy's high walls and Troy will be nothing but a memory!" He exclaimed, and narrowed his eyes at her. "And we'll see if you remember who's your king then girl!" He said throwing her on the bed onto her back.

When Briseis realized what he was trying to do to her she hastily tried to back away from him; crawling backwards on the bed.

"Where are you going priestess?" He asked smiling menacingly, as she accidentally fell backwards off of the large bed. "Won't you come join me, for some… fun?" He asked laughing heartily to himself.

"I would rather die a thousand deaths than feel your flesh against mine," she spat at him as Agamemnon snarled.

"That, my pretty, can be arranged…. Guards!" He called, and in a matter of seconds his two main guards appeared.

"Take this bitch out of my sight; do with her as you wish!" He said with a wave of his hand. Briseis looked at the wicked smiles on the men's faces, and she knew she had to do something, quick.

She looked around frantically for anything that she could use as a weapon, and saw a pretty hard golden vase on a table next to her. She quickly picked it up and bashed one of the guards on the head as hard as she could, and he fell down unconscious with a loud thud. The other soldier looked down at him and then back to Briseis, before quickly grabbing her throat and starting to strangle her before she could hit him also. So she did the only thing she could; she kneed him right in the groin. He immediately let her go; crouching down in pain as his hands flew down to his throbbing man hood.

Briseis watched him collapse in pain and hurriedly ran past him and almost made it out of the room, but Agamemnon grabbed her arm harshly.

"Not so fast Tro-" he started to say, but Briseis remembered she was still holding the vase, and quickly swung it at his head as hard as she could. She watched his large form fall hard on the floor, and Briseis dropped the vase and stood there not exactly knowing what to do. She stood completely still trying to listen if anyone had heard anything and would come to investigate. The only noise that could be heard was her beating heart, as she licked her bleeding bottom lip. After a couple of minutes when no one came, Briseis let out a long breath.

She looked around, checking to see if there was any other way of escape, besides the one that led to the hallway where there would most likely be Greek guards. But of course Briseis could not find any. So she walked as quietly as she could and pushed the curtain from the opening of the room and peeked out into the hallway.

She hastily ducked her head back into the room when she saw two Greek soldiers; one was fast asleep slouched on the floor, but the other one was very much awake. She slowly took in deep breaths trying to think of what she should do. She couldn't stay in here, and she couldn't very well just waltz right up to the soldiers… or could she?

Briseis froze as her mind started racing with frantic ideas. After a couple of minutes she smiled and thanked Apollo as she suddenly thought of what to do. She went over and bent down to one of the unconscious soldiers and cautiously and as silently as she could, she slowly took his dagger from his side and hid it within the long sleeves of her robe.

She stood back up and walked back over to the curtain that lead to the hallway. She took a deep breath, pulled back the curtain and walked tentatively out into the hallway toward the soldier, who had yet to notice her.

"My lord…" Briseis called out to him and bowed her head showing him, she wanted no trouble. The soldier looked up, and a confused look came across his gruff features.

"What are you doing out here? Are you not supposed to be with King Agamemnon?" the soldier asked, as the other one still was still snoring lightly.

"Your king grew tired of me, and sent me out here to please you, my lord," She said slowly raising her head to look at him to see if he would buy her story; Briseis' heart sank as he looked at her skeptically.

"He sent you out here? For me?" he asked her his face full of doubt, and Briseis slowly nodded her head. "I think I will go ask my king myself…" he said as he pushed her out of the way. When his back was turned to her, Briseis, noticing her small window of opportunity, slid the dagger down to her hand and swiftly and firmly plunged the dagger into the soldier's back.

She watched as she saw his stance falter as he let out a painful moan. She quickly removed the dagger from his back and before stabbing him again she whispered a barely audible "forgive me," as she delivered the fatal blow to the back of his neck. She watched as his dying body slowly collapsed, and she waited a second as she watched to make sure he was dead. Briseis never felt as low as she did at that moment, but she tried to comfort herself 'he would've done the same to you' she thought, and this comforted her.

She gradually turned her head to look at the other shoulder, who was to her relief still pleasantly sleeping. She tiptoed down the hallway and passed the other kings rooms, until she saw the opening that led out to the sandy shore. Briseis looked up and smiled, for she was never as happy to see the beautiful star filled sky as she was that night. Briseis felt the warm sand beneath her petite feet as she hesitantly stepped out of the Kings' tent. She looked around at the vast Greek camp. Tears came to her as she was rushed with emotion as she saw the beautiful shores of her homeland taken over by a foreign invader.

Luckily most of soldiers were in their tents, and all was basically still at this time of the night.

Briseis dried her tears and forced her emotions under control, as her eyes darted around making sure there were no lingering soldiers. She saw none in her immediate vision, and she ran and hid behind the next tent. She looked around and checked to see if there were any soldiers; when she saw none she darted to the next tent and hid behind that one. She did this a couple of more times, before she sighed realized that if she stopped and checked for soldiers at every tent she wouldn't reach the gates of Troy until late morning.

Briseis' heart stopped when she suddenly heard the voices of two soldiers walking not too far from her. She held her breath and sunk down as low as she could, trying to hide behind a tent. She let out a long breath; when she heard their voices start to fade as the soldiers kept on walking. She quietly thanked Apollo, and got up preparing to run to the next tent. As she looked around for another soldiers that wanted to pop up, she failed to notice the soldier that was standing right behind her.


	4. Chapter Four

Hey- thanx to the people who reviewed! Keep on reviewing, cuz if you guys don't review i'm not gonna write, so review and let me kno how ya feel! k? k! lol

-

Chapter Four

Achilles groaned as he woke up from his uneasy slumber. The whole night he had been trying to sleep, but as soon as he closed his eyes he saw Briseis' bloody and bruised face, and he was reminded of Agamemnon, and he really didn't want to imagine that pig having his way with her.

Usually girls being beaten and taken advantage didn't bother him; nothing ever really seemed to bother him. But there was something about this girl Briseis, that made Achilles feel the need to do something. But what could he do?

He rolled over and was surprised when he saw a naked girl laying next him, until he remembered what had happened earlier that night. Achilles was shocked that this whore was still here; he hardly ever shared his bed with anyone and definitely not with a whore.

He sat up and looked at the girl that was sleeping soundly. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath that she took, and he noticed the slight smile on her lips. Achilles smiled smugly. He knew he had showed her a good time, and that like all the other whores he knew she would go brag to her friends that she had bed the great Achilles.

He decided it was time for her to go, so he shook her slightly. When she didn't wake up, he shook her harder. When she still looked like she wasn't going to move Achilles got frustrated and shoved her off of his fur bed. The girl woke up with a start and looked up at him confused.

"Leave!" he commanded, settling back into a comfortable position. The girl made no attempt to move and was still looking at him shocked. "Can you not hear? I said leave!" he shouted, and she got up and grabbed her blue robe that was on the floor next to her and tried to put it on, but Achilles booming voice stopped her.

"Go! Dress yourself outside! I am done with you, so leave my presence!" The girl quickly scuttled outside, not wanting to upset him any further.

Achilles lay on his bed staring up at the roof of his hut. He closed his eyes and willed himself to resign into sleep. He laid there as a couple of minutes went by when sleep still did not come to him, he growled and got up, deciding to take a walk by the calming shoreline.

He got up and covered his naked form with a black linen robe. He walked out his tent, and immediately felt better when he felt the cool sea breeze hit his tanned face.

He walked down to the shore and stared up at the full moon. He couldn't help put wonder if Briseis, his captive, was alright. Deep down for some reason he really hoped that she was.

He walked and walked for at least an hour, and when he felt a hint of a yawn forming in his throat he smiled and started heading back to his hut.

On his way back he passed two soldiers, as they both bowed their heads to him. He acknowledged them briefly, and was on his way again. He was startled when out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure in the darkness dash from one tent to another.

On first impulse he reached for his sword, but then remembered he only had his robe on. So he crept as quietly as possible over to the figure as its back was turned. He squinted in the darkness and realization dawned on Achilles as he saw that the figure was quite petite with long flowing brown hair. 'That must be her…' he thought to himself.

He bent down behind her and reached out his strong arm and placed his hand on her shoulder, as she jumped from fright. She turned quickly turned around; eyes wide with fright and her chest heaving. When she realized it was him she visibly relaxed a little bit, but was noticeably still tense.

"What are you doing?" he asked, noticing she had even more cuts and bruises on her face than she did before.

"What do think!" she exclaimed softly, giving him a dirty look. Achilles raised his eyebrows at her.

"I would think you would be pleasant to me, Briseis, considering as of right now I could give you back to Agamemnon."

"You wouldn't," she stated boldly.

"I wouldn't?" he asked her wondering how she seemed so sure. "What makes you so sure, priestess?"

"You had given me your word that you would protect me. Does your word now mean nothing?" Briseis challenged him

"My word still stands…" he assured her, but he wondered did she really expect to make it back to Troy alive? "What do you wish for me to do?"

"Leave me be. Go back to your slumber," She said with more authority than Achilles would've liked.

"I wasn't sleeping." Achilles said dryly.

"Well then go back to whatever it is that you were doing. Please I need to hurry and escape before any more soldiers awake. I can not waste anymore time talking with you. Please go," she urged him.

"You're still my captive Briseis… maybe I don't want you to escape," he said reaching out a hand to feel one of her cuts, as she violently jerked away from his unwanted touch.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed, and Achilles brought his hand back down and narrowed his eyes at her. "And I'm not your captive," she growled at him. Achilles was amazed at how this girl still managed to still have her dignity.

"Oh and what do you think you are then? My friend?" he said smirking. Briseis rolled her eyes.

"Why do you irritate me so? Please, for the last time, leave me alone and go back to yo-" Briseis' words were cut off when they heard a man's angry voice booming voice, and Briseis' eyes widened when she realized it to be Agamemnon's.

Achilles stood up when he heard it, and in the distance he squinted and he saw Agamemnon talking loudly with about five soldiers and more were coming out of their tents, but he could not make out the words that were being said. He saw him pointing to his bloody head, and Achilles wondered how that had happened. He looked down when he felt Briseis tug lightly on the bottom of his robe.

"What is happening?" she whispered looking up at him, her fear apparent in her dark eyes.

"It's Agamemnon…" he told her.

"I know that, but what is happening?" she whispered frantically. Achilles squinted his eyes and saw that the soldier's had grabbed torches and it seemed like they were looking for something. Achilles had a pretty good idea what it was that they were looking for. He looked down at Briseis' scared face and he knew he couldn't just leave her to the mercy of Agamemnon. He bent down to her level to look into her eyes.

"Briseis, you must come with me," he said holding out his hand towards her. She looked down at his hand and then into his eyes.

"What? No! What's happening? He's looking for me, isn't he?" Briseis asked him wishing she could stand up and see what was happening. Achilles took his large hand and grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him

"It is either me or Agamemnon! Decide!" He said letting go of her face and extending his hand towards her once more. Realizing he was right she tentatively took his hand, as Achilles tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Come, my hut is that way." He told her as he pointed in the direction. "I will hide you there, but we must be quick." They crouched low and went as fast as they could towards Achilles' hut. The soldier's were still pretty far off and it was dark so they knew the soldier's probably wouldn't notice them.

It didn't take them long to reach the safety of Achilles' hut. Achilles pushed back the curtain at the opening and led Briseis in. As soon as they got in Briseis immediately let go of his hand as if it had burned her. Achilles rolled his eyes at her childish behavior, and watched as she sat in the far corner. He looked at her for a moment longer, before going over to her and grabbing a wash cloth to dip into the water bowl.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, ringing out the cloth. When she didn't answer he leaned over and tried to wipe her face with the cloth, but she slapped his hand away. He gave her a look, and tried again and she slapped his hand away just as she did before. He gave up and threw it at her, and she threw it back with the same force. He took in a deep breath to try to calm his rising temper. He picked up the cloth and made eye contact with her as he dropped it back into the bowl.

Briseis glared at him, as she went to go grab the wash cloth herself. She rang it out and tended to her many cuts, which had pretty much dried up.

Achilles realized she must've been very hungry; knowing Agamemnon hadn't given her anything to eat. So he grabbed a tray of food and set it down in front of her. "Eat," he said while grabbing a chicken leg for himself.

Briseis looked at the food, and even thought she really was hungry she just didn't feel like eating. Instead she settled her gaze on the man that sat in front of her. She rolled her eyes when she thought of how great she knew he thought he was. Did he not know that there were thousands of great warriors just like him? 'Maybe I should let him know…' she thought wryly to herself.

"I've known men like you my whole life." She told him, making him look at her.

"No you haven't," he said confidently, as he took another bite of his chicken.

"You think you're so different from a thousand others?" she asked narrowing her eyes, when she saw him smile smugly. "Soldiers understand nothing but war… peace confuses them."

"And you hate these soldiers?" he asked looking at her closely.

"I pity them."

"Trojan soldiers died trying to protect you. Perhaps they deserve more than your pity." Briseis was speechless when she heard him say that; she had never thought of it like that. The two sat in silence for a moment, until Briseis spoke.

"Why did you choose this life?" she asked, dabbing a cut on her nose.

"What life?" he asked not knowing what she meant.

"To be a great warrior!" she exclaimed.

"I chose nothing," he said looking into her eyes. "I was born, and this is what I am. And you? Why did you choose to love a god?" he asked, she looked up, surprised that he was actually asking about her life. "I think you'll find the romance one sided." He stated grimly. Briseis glared at him. 'Bastard!' she thought.

"Do enjoy provoking me?" she asked lowly, noticing the soft smile on his lips.

"You've dedicated you're life to the gods. Zeus, god of thunder. Athena goddess of wisdom. You serve them?" he stated more than asked.

"Yes of course."

"And Aries? God of war? Who blankets his bed with the skin of men he's killed?" And for the second time that night Briseis was speechless, because he did prove his point.

"All the gods are to be feared and respected," she mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

Achilles stared at her with a half smile. 'She's still beautiful…' he thought looking at her abused face, as he cocked his head to the side.

"I'll tell you a secret, something they don't teach in your temple." He said leaning forward. "The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal. Because any moment might be our last, everything's more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again." He whispered, as their eyes locked.

Not knowing what to say, Briseis leaned forward and gabbed a grape from the tray. "And I thought you were a dumb brute. I could've forgiven a dumb brute," she said before popping it into her mouth.

They were both silent; Briseis thinking about what he had just said, and Achilles wondering what she was thinking about.

"So Briseis…" he said lightly, causing her to break her thoughts and avert her eyes toward him. "How did you escape?" he asked after a couple of moments.

"I knocked all of them out!" Briseis boasted with a proud smile as she popped another grape into her mouth, and Achilles couldn't help but laugh at her childish grin.

"That would explain Agamemnon's head!" Achilles state still laughing. His laughter soon died down and his face filled with wonder as his blue stared at her intently. "Briseis… in all my days I have never met anyone like you." He told her honestly.

She looked up when she heard his surprising statement, and looked at him curiously. "I have never met anyone like you either, Achilles" she whispered, as they both shared a shy smile.

-

Hey thanx for reading! like it? hate it? review please!


	5. Chapter Five

Hey guyz! Thanx for all ur good reviews! I'm not really sure how I want this story to turn out yet, although I have an idea. If any of you have any ideas, e mail me!

Anyways RR!

-

Chapter Five

Achilles eyes flickered open and shut once more as he saw the bright morning sun filtering through into his hut. The sun was high in the sky so he figured it was probably late in the morning. He groaned and rolled over so his back was facing the sun. He slowly opened his eyes and stretched his tired muscles. He lay awake for a few minutes before gradually sitting up.

He looked around his small living space, and his eyes landed on a sleeping Briseis. 'She looks really uncomfortable,' he thought to himself. She was sitting against the wall; her knees against her chest and her head was leaning on her shoulder. Achilles knew she would definitely have a sore neck when she woke up.

The night before he had offered that she could sleep on the bed with him, but she had politely declined saying "it is not a right for a woman to share a bed with any man who is not her husband. Besides I'm comfortable right here." Achilles couldn't help but to be disappointed by her answer but he was too tired to care. So he blew out the candle and went to sleep.

He silently got up and wrapped a blue toga around his waist. He then scooted over to her, until his face was merely a foot away from hers. He cocked his head to side and just stared at her. He took his opportunity to study her features.

Her face was now clean, it still had a few cuts, but for the most part Achilles thought it was perfect. Her long dark lashes delicately covered her radiant brown eyes that Achilles wished he was looking into. His eyes landed on her plump cherry lips and he subconsciously licked his own lips as he thought about them. His gaze gradually fell down to her chest that was gently rising and falling with each breath she took, and he couldn't help but notice the two perfectly shaped mounds that he could make out from under her robe. And he had to stop himself from reaching out to touch them.

"Ooh Briseis, someday!" he groaned quietly, careful not to wake her. He stared at her for a little longer, before he let out a soft chuckle realizing how stupid he was being.

Why was he, the great Achilles, getting all topsy turvey over this… woman! He felt like a little boy, who had his first crush. He felt like a little bitch, that's what he felt like. Only weak men let a woman get to them, and Achilles never was a weak man, and he's be damned if he ever was.

He stood up and ran a frustrated hand though his wavy blonde locks. 'This is ridiculous' he thought to himself, as he grabbed his black robe and slipped it over his head, and stormed out of his hut, leaving the still sleeping Briseis.

"My lord!" Achilles turned and saw his dedicated soldier, Eudorus coming toward him. "You're captive escaped, my lord, last night. Agamemnon is furious." He informed him, not knowing that Achilles already knew all of this.

"Come Eudorus, I must show you something…" he said as he pushed back the flaps of his hut letting Eudorus enter before entering himself. Eudorus stopped short and a confused look crossed his features when he saw Briseis.

"My lord…?" he asked, turning his confused glance to the warrior.

"Only you know of this. And I will tell Patroclus later." He told him in a whisper, careful not to wake Briseis.

"My lord, she killed a soldier and almost killed Agamemnon! He was looking for her late last night and long into the morning. Thaddeus told me that he had vowed to kill her by the end of the war." He said hastily, speaking of another soldier who had overheard Agamemnon. "He is angry and shamed that a woman has undermined him and he swore to revenge. Why, if he knew she were here he'd surely kill her, and probably try to kill you too!" Eudorus exclaimed in a low insistent voice.

"He would never dare to kill me!" Achilles exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "I am his best warrior! He knows that I could kill him!"

"I know my lord, but either way he would kill the girl, and he would unquestionably find some way to punish you," Eudorus warned. "My lord it is not wise to keep her here. Perhaps you should return her to her country at night?" he suggested.

"No!" he interjected loudly, but quickly remembered that Briseis was sleeping and said his next words in a quiet, yet authoritive whisper. "You brought her for me, did you not?" he asked as Eudorus nodded. "Then she is mine to keep and I have no desire to send her home." Achilles knew what Eudorus was saying was true and it would be the best option to send Briseis home. But damnit Achilles didn't want to. Was he wrong to want some company besides that of his fellow myrmidons?

"Ow!" The two men's attention was suddenly drawn to the corner of the hut when they heard Briseis' loud yelp. They saw her holding her neck as she had a painful grimace on her face. "Oh Gods…" she groaned as she rolled her neck around in a slow circle. She slowly opened her eyes and was surprised when she saw the two men standing in the hut. She looked at them awkwardly, while still rubbing her neck. "May I get a drink?" She asked softly gesturing to the water bowl that was next to her.

Achilles nodded to her and watched at she scooped some water in her palm and brought to her face to take a sip. He then turned back to Eudorus before firmly saying, "I will speak with you later. And remember tell no one of what you seen."

Eudorus nodded and left the hut and Achilles and Briseis were alone once more. She was silently quenching her morning thirst, and he sat on his fur bed and poured himself a glass of wine.

He looked up when he heard Briseis let out a loud groan, and stood up to stretch her long legs, and stretch her arms over her head. Achilles couldn't help the slight smile that crept onto his face when he saw her wipe the sleep out of her eyes; she looked like a child waking up from a nap.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, taking a sip from his glass.

"As well as I could on a floor, I suppose," she said curtly, and settling back down into her corner

"I don't know, you looked pretty comfortable," he smirked at her, and chuckled when she gave him a look.

"Ugh, my neck is killing me… but it's only on the one side…" She mumbled, rubbing her sore neck. "I guess I fell asleep in a bad position."

"Would you like me to massage it for you?" he asked, silently hoping that she'd say yes; it would finally give him an excuse to touch her. But, when she shot him a dirty look all of his hope quickly faded away.

"I think I'll be okay," she said coldly, leaving Achilles sort of confused. He thought that last night they were getting along. He rolled his eyes, and angrily got up, and mumbled a quick "I'll be back," before quickly exiting the hut.

Briseis watched him leave, and scowled. She didn't know why he was getting all mad. Mad about what? Did he expect her to just readily be pleasant to him? After all, his sole reason for even coming to Troy was to kill Trojans, was it not? It was bad enough she was civil to him last night, but she would not worsen it by actually trying to befriend him.

So what if he had saved her last night, and let her sleep in his hut. She knew that he probably had some ulterior motive, and she could just guess what that was.

After a couple of minutes, she started wondered where he had gone. And as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to get a little scared being in his hut all alone. Last time she was here all alone two of Agamemnon's guards had taken her, but she remembered that no one knew she was here and she relaxed a bit. But she still was a little scared, and as much as she hated it, she secretly hoped Achilles would return soon; for he was her only small sense of security.

She huffed, not really wanting to think about him anymore. She felt her stomach grumble, and looked around for the tray of food, so she could cure her much detested hunger pains. She saw it sitting on Achilles fur bed, and she got up and walked over to the bed before sitting on it. She grabbed a green apple with one hand and felt the soft fur with the other. It was a beautiful black and grey fur of some animal, a wolf she supposed, and it felt nice against her supple skin.

Briseis took a bite of her apple and laid down on the bed. She laid there just thinking about Troy and if she would ever be inside those glorious walls once more. She thought about her cousins, Hector and Paris, and she wondered if they missed her, or if they were looking for her. She wondered about Hector's baby boy, Astyanax, and if she would ever see him grow up. Tears of sorrow stung her eyes as she thought about dying in this wretched Greek camp. She sadly took another bite of her apple, and tried to stop herself from crying. If Achilles had walked in and saw that she was crying, she knew he would think he had gotten the best of her and that definitely was not the case.

She was sad about all these things, but most of all she was sad and angered at how Apollo had done this to her. In all of her life she had never done anything to anger Apollo; and yet now here she was as a captive in an enemy's hut. She seriously wondered if Achilles was right. If the romance really was one sided. After dedicating all of her years to serving the Gods, she was so confused and so emotionally distraught over her unfortunate turn of events.

This whole experience left her not knowing what to think, and she angrily threw her half eaten apple across the hut and her red puffy eyes watched as it hit the ground with a soft thud. Her emotions got the best of her as she buried her face in her hands and her small body was racked with sobs. Briseis had always been the levelheaded one, and for the first time she didn't know what to do.

-

Meanwhile Achilles was sitting merely ten feet from the tent on a log, drinking wine when Patroclus and Eudorus came up to him.

"My lord, the army is marching," Eudorus informed him, and Achilles looked at him from over his wine glass.

"Let them march, we stay," he said firmly.

"But the men are ready-" Eudorus said confused, before Achilles hastily cut him off.

"We stay until Agamemnon groans to have Achilles back!" he exclaimed, making Patroclus shake his head, ashamed of his older cousin. Achilles saw this and directed his next words at him. "He disrespected me, he took what was mine! I will not yield to Agamemnon!" he shouted fiercely making Eudorus flinch at his loud words.

"As you wish," Eudorus quickly said before bowing his head and leaving to tell the other Myrmidons; leaving a livid Patroclus shooting Achilles an icy glare. Achilles pretended not to notice and took another sip of his wine, letting the cool liquid calm him down from his little outburst.

"Are you ready to fight?" he asked after a couple of moments. "Are you ready to kill? To take life?"

"I am." Patroclus stated solemnly. Achilles looked his young cousin and snickered. He brought his golden wine glass up to his lips but did not take a drink. He stared at the sandy ground when he said his next words.

"At night I see their faces," he started. "Of all the men I've killed. They're standing there; on the far bank of the river Styx… they're waiting for me." He then looked up at his cousin. "They're saying welcome brother…" he trailed off in a low voice. He stared at Patroclus for a moment longer before taking a sip of his wine. After swallowing, he stared blankly ahead said bitterly, "we men are wretched things." He stayed silent for a moment before snapping out of his gaze. "I taught you how to fight, but I never taught you why to fight."

Patroclus rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and let out a short sigh, before saying, "I fight for you."

"Who will you fight for when I'm gone?" he asked. "Soldiers, they fight for kings they've never even met. They do what they're told; they die when they're told to die," he stated grimly.

"Soldiers obey," Patroclus stated confidently, causing Achilles to shake his head at his younger cousin.

"Don't waste your time following some fools orders," he advised, as Patroclus just stared at him. Achilles sighed and hastily got up and stormed past Patroclus and back into the hut.

When he entered the tent he saw a red-eyed Briseis sitting on his bed. "Why are you on my bed?" he asked her sharply. He was in a foul mood, and she was the easiest person to take his frustration out on.

"Sorry…" she said softly as she slid off the bed and scurried back to her little corner. Achilles heard her sniffle lightly, and realized that she had been crying.

"Are you ill?" he asked her harshly, making Briseis glare at him.

"What do you care," she grumbled sniffling again. Achilles narrowed his eyes at her; he had had enough of her sharp little comments.

"You're right, I don't," he said unconcernedly before slipping his robe off. He grabbed his breast plate and fitted it over his muscular chest. Briseis' eyes widened when she saw him drop his toga and she saw his firm backside before hastily turning her head. She had never seen a man's naked form before and she didn't want his to be the first one she saw.

"I will be back later on," he told her, making her turn around. She was relieved to see he now was clothed and was bent down lacing up his brown sandals. When he finished he stood up and said, "No one besides Eudorus knows you are here, and I will tell my cousin Patroclus. They are both trustworthy men and will not utter a word of your whereabouts. Stay here, and stay silent, until I come back." He told her solemnly before turning and exiting.

-

Thank you for reading chapter five,I worked hard on it! So make sure to take a minutes out ur day to review! thanx!


	6. Chapter Six

Hey guys! Thanks for all of your good reviews, it really motivates me to write more.This is my first fanfic and i was scared that i was gonna get a lot of flames, lol. But anyway, keep on reviewing, cuz I like reaing them and I'll probabl review ur story too (if you have one, duh!) lol.

Anyways, RR, please!

-

Chapter Six

After Achilles left his hut, he walked over to where his fellow Myrmidons were.

"Myrmidons!" he called out to them, causing them all to look up to their leader. "I'm sure Eudorus has told you all that we will not fight today, nor any day until Agamemnon groans to have us back!" he said, and the men cheered in approval. "But we will watch the battle, and laugh when Agamemnon looses today," he said haughtily, causing the men to chuckle as well.

And with that being said, as the other Greek soldiers were on their way to the battlefield, the Myrmidons were going to find a higher ground to watch the battle from.

Achilles was still in a pretty sour mood, but he knew watching the battle would make him feel a bit better.

But the more he thought about his last interaction with Briseis, the more he realized that maybe he should've handled it a little differently. He knew he had lied about not caring that she was crying, but he had let his anger over run his true feelings; he realized that he did that a lot.

He didn't really have to think that hard about why Briseis was probably crying. With all that she had went through, he was actually surprised that he hadn't caught her crying sooner.

But he didn't want her to cry, he wanted her to enjoy her time with him. He wanted her to actually like being around him; like how it was last night between them. He sighed as he realized that that probably wouldn't happen until he apologized to her. So he decided that as soon as he got back to his hut and back to Briseis he would ask for her forgiveness, and only hope that she would accept it.

-

Briseis' day was so unbelievingly boring, as she sat all day in Achilles small hut. She heard few noises outside, so she figured that most of the soldiers had gone off to war. She had tried to peak out to see if all of the soldiers had gone, but there were still a couple that had stayed behind. She huffed; mad that she couldn't try to make another escape attempt.

So she walked desolately over to the fur bed and plopped down, with a long sigh. She couldn't believe that her life had been reduced to being a captive; and to such a self-righteous warrior no less. But she presumed it was better than being a captive to a dirty old king, and she was thankful for that at least.

Briseis could faintly hear the waves crashing against the sandy shore, and she sighed longingly. How she wished she was in the Aegean at this moment; anywhere besides being stuffed into a small hut.

A few hours had passed and as much as Briseis hated to admit it, she really couldn't wait for Achilles to come back. For if she didn't have some form of human contact soon, Briseis feared that he thoughts would drive her mad.

Having nothing else to do, she reluctantly laid down on Achilles bed, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep.

-

It was much later and the sun had begun to set on the Greek camp. Achilles made his way back to the hut, in good sprits. Menelaus was dead and Agamemnon had suffered a great defeat; and Achilles was happy knowing that Agamemnon's pride was wounded.

With a smile still on his face, he pushed back the flaps of his hut and entered, upon which he saw a sleeping Briseis who's back was to him. He wondered why she was sleeping, considering it was still fairly early in the day. He stared at her for a moment or two until looking away and taking off his breast plate and other armor and putting on a dark blue robe. He walked over to the water bowl and splashed water on his face. He was startled when he heard Briseis' soft voice speak out to him

"Tell me soldier," she started, smirking when she saw Achilles jump slightly, he had not expected to hear her voice. He looked up and saw that she had sat up and was now looking directly at him. "How many Trojans did you kill today?" she asked him bitingly.

"Do you enjoy surprising people?" he asked, grabbing a washcloth to wipe his face with.

"Answer my question," she told him, ignoring the question that he had asked her.

"None." He assured her. "I didn't go into battle today."

"Then why do you have on your armor?" she asked, not believing him.

"I went to go watch the battle," he explained to her.

"I know somebody like you can't resist the thrill of killing, can they," she stated with disgust.

"Briseis! I did not go into battle! Do you see any blood on me?" his voice boomed at her. And afterwards he immediately regretted going off on her as her saw her flinch from his loud words.

He sighed, and went and sat on the bed next to her. She immediately scooted away from him, and he was a little hurt. He looked at her and saw that she had her arms crossed and a scowl was on her face as she stared straight ahead. He knew that right now would be a good time to apologize, but he just couldn't get the words out. He sighed and thought of something to say.

"Do you need something else to wear?" he asked softly, noticing that her once pristine white and blue robe was now a dusty brown color.

She cut her eyes at him and said coldly, "I don't need anything from you."

Achilles was getting a little frustrated with her, but he tried to control his easy temper. "You know, Briseis, I'm not the monster you make me out be."

"I don't make you out to be anything, Achilles. You are what you are." She said lowly, and Achilles had to take two deep breaths to stop himself from going off on her again. Instead he turned and poured himself a glass of wine, before facing her again.

He took a sip and stared at her from over his wine glass. Briseis felt his intense eyes on her, and it was starting to bother her.

"Will you please turn your stare elsewhere? I don't feel comfortable with you staring at me." She told him directly, but of course he didn't listen.

"I can't." he stated simply.

"Why? It's making me uncomfortable."

"I can't stop looking at you, Briseis… you're beautiful," he whispered softly, causing Briseis to look up at him in shock.

"What?" she asked, giving him a confused look.

"As beautiful as you are how could you not know…" he trailed off. When she didn't say anything he reached out to softly touch her soft face. And he got beyond frustrated when she shied away from his touch yet again. "Damnit Briseis, why can't you just let things happen!" he exclaimed, as he stood up, towering over her.

"Let what happen? Nothing's happening!" she yelled, standing up also, even though it was no use because he was still towering over her.

"Why can't we at least try to be friends! I'm really trying here Briseis, but you just won't quit!"

"Friends? What are you talking about? I'm your captive, remember!"

"Of course I remember, how could I not... when you won't let neither of us forget!" He said through gritted teeth.

"What? Why are you getting angry! I'm the one that has been stuck in this Gods forsaken hut for hours upon hours, and all of a sudden you come in, Mr. Great Warrior, and start shouting at me!" Briseis yelled.

"What? You don't even know what you are talking about! I was the one who tried to be kind to you, and you just immediately started to argue with me!"

"See that's you're problem! You're used to women just bowing down to you, aren't you? Well I'm not one of your little whores that is going to do whatever you want me to. I'm not going to bow down to you. I'm not goin—"

"Be quiet!" he bellowed, causing her to jump from his sudden shout, and sit back down on the bed not saying anything. "Gods! Why do you have to be so frustrating?"

"I could say the same about you," she spat at him.

"Why do you insist on making me so angry?" He growled at her.

"Are you serious? Me, making you angry?" she asked, looking at him like he was crazy. "What, do you think I want to be here? Do you think I'm enjoying it here? Being stuck in a small closed space with nothing but a killer? Do think I'm enjoying this? Do you!" she yelled.

"I could have left you out there last night, to be killed by Agamemnon. But I didn't. And this is how you thank me for saving your life? By criticizing me at any chance you get!" he yelled. "All I've tried to do is help you an—"

"If you really wanted to help me you'd leave me alone," she cut him off sharply. Achilles sighed and shook his head.

"You win. I don't feel like arguing anymore." He said, going over to the other side of the hut and grabbing his sword. He sat down and started sharpening it. Briseis looked at him warily, and decided she should get off his bed. So she grabbed the tray of food and went over to her little corner.

The two sat in silence; Briseis quietly eating some fruit, and Achilles intently sharpening his sword. Darkness covered the Greek camp, and all was basically silent.

With the concentrated silence, Briseis let her thoughts drift. She knew only yards away was the beautiful Trojan shore, and she wished she could see it once more. Briseis loved going to the beach at night, and seeing the moon's reflection on the crystal water. She sighed longingly wishing she could do that once more.

Achilles heard her wistful sigh, and he looked up from his sword. He saw a longing look on her pretty face, and wondered what she was thinking about. 'She's probably longing to get away from me,' he thought to himself glumly. But he decided to ask her anyway.

"What are you thinking of?" he asked her softly, careful not to make her angry once more. She snapped out of her gaze and a cold look came across her face once more.

"Why do you care?" she said frostily.

"Never mind," he said shaking his head, wondering why he even asked, as he looked back down at his sword once more.

Briseis looked at his bowed head and his slumped shoulders and suddenly felt guilty. He really was trying to get along with her and she just wouldn't give him a chance. She inwardly sighed and realized that maybe she shouldn't have been so unpleasant to him.

"The beach," she said suddenly, causing him to looking up at her. "I was thinking about the beach at night. I used to love to go there on a clear night and look at the stars." She explained, causing him to smile at her.

"See priestess, was that so hard?" he said teasingly, causing her to smile slightly. A thoughtful look came across his handsome face before he spoke again. "It is a beautiful night tonight."

"I wish I could see it." She stated sadly, and Achilles got a thoughtful look on his face.

"Would you like to tonight?" he asked smiling at her gently, causing her to narrow her eyes at him.

"Don't play. You know I can't go out there." She told him.

"I'm serious!" he exclaimed, before getting up and exiting the hut, uttering a quick, "I'll be right back." Briseis was confused by his actions and didn't know what he was up to.

He came into the hut a minute later and said, "I checked outside, and no soldiers are out."

Briseis looked at him shocked. "But what if we get caught, Agamemnon would kill me."

"Don't be scared of him, I will protect you," he said sincerely looking her right in her eyes. She stared in his crystal eyes, and wondered why he wanted to do this for her.

"But he is your king, you can't openly defy him!"

"I have done so before…" he stated proudly. "Now come with me. Don't be afraid," he told her reassuringly.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked softly, making Achilles smile and shrug his shoulders.

"I don't know… I guess I just want us to be friends," he said sincerely, making Briseis smile slightly at that. Achilles smiled and grabbed her petite hand into his large one. "Now come on," he said helping her up.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked him apprehensively one more time.

"I won't let Agamemnon take you again. I promise you that." He said, and she knew by the look in his eyes that he had meant what he said. "Now come on," he urged her tugging on her hand.

He pushed the flaps of his hut to the side, and let Briseis exit first. She hesitantly stepped out into the warm night and looked up and saw the full moon shining brightly. Achilles, still holding on to her hand, stepped out after her. He smiled when he saw the look on her face; pleased that he could make her happy. Achilles didn't know what it was about this woman that made him want to be good for her.

The two walked down to the shoreline hand in hand, and Achilles noticed her eyes actively looking for any soldiers. And he had to remind her that with him she was safe, making her relax a little bit.

When they got close to the water, Briseis let go of Achilles hand and giddily ran into the water until she was mid calf deep, making Achilles laugh at her antics. She wished she could take off all of her clothes and swim in the sea, but she was content as she was for right now. She bent down and scooped up some water before throwing it above her head, making it splash on her, and laughed girlishly.

She turned around and smiled brightly at Achilles. And his heart almost stopped. He didn't know if it was the moonlight shining down on her, or if it was the tiny droplets of water that were slowly dripping down her face, or if it was the way her long wavy hair gently blew in the wind, but he knew that she was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. He couldn't take his eyes of her, she looked so unbelievingly breathtaking, and Achilles didn't know what to think as he stared at her. He was convinced that this woman was a goddess.

All of a sudden Briseis came running toward him and threw her arms around him. To say Achilles was surprised was an understatement. After he recovered from the initial shock, he wrapped his strong arms around her and picked her up and twirled her around. He watched contentedly, as her long hair blew in the wind and she looked at him and laughed like she hadn't a care in the world.

After a minute or two he slowly put her back down on the ground, and Briseis still had a great smile on her face as she looked at him.

"Thank you…" she said breathlessly. "You didn't have to do this." She said turning serious.

"I wanted to," he said softly.

"Why? I have been nothing but utterly miserable to you."  
"I guess you could say I just wanted to see you smile," he said tenderly as he cupped her soft cheek in his hand. She looked up at him and smiled tenderly. This man before her was so complex. She knew that she had misjudged him before, and that he was such a better man than she had given him credit for.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm sorry for being such a menace to you. You didn't deserve that," she confessed.

"I should be the one apologizing. I took my anger and my frustration out on you and it was wrong of me." She smiled, and they let go of each other and started to walk down the shoreline just enjoying the beautiful atmosphere. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and maybe more...

-

Hey, thanks for reaing Chapter six! Now _puh-lease_ press the little review button, and tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter Seven

Hey all, sorry this chapter took me so long to post, but lately I've been pretty busy. But I will try to post Chapter 8 soon.

Anyways I know some of you are probably wondering why I'm makingAchilles and Briseis argue so much, but I dunno maybe I'm weird but I think couples whofight a lot are the most passionate about each other (like Noah and Allie on The Notebook). But don't worry there will be some romance soon. I just didn't want them to fall in love really fast, because I think it would'vebeen really cheesy and unrealistic if they fell in love in like the 3rd chapter, ya know?

Anyways thanks so much for all of your reviews, I really appreciate them. And Sun- I will try to fit all of your ideas into the story somehow, but not in this chapter, sorry :(

Anyways enough of me talking, so please just RR.

Chapter Seven

It was a beautiful morning after an equally beautiful night. The sky was a pinkish hue as the sun was steadily rising over the watery horizon. The waves were calm and not a cloud was in the sky; and for the first time Briseis was the first to wake.

Her long lashes slowly parted and her brown eyes appeared. She immediately squinted as her eyes tried to adjust to the bright sunlight filtering in through the flaps. She stretched her long limbs and wiped the sleep out of the eyes, as she yawned lazily.

With her tired eyes still half closed, she casually looked over at a sleeping Achilles. Last night she decided that she really didn't want another stiff neck, so Achilles offered that the bed was large enough that they could both sleep on it without any physical contact. So they slept on opposite sides of the bed as Briseis slept above the covers while Achilles slept under them.

Briseis smiled tenderly as she looked at him peacefully sleeping, and thoughts of last night came to her. 'I suppose he isn't as bad as I thought…' she thought to herself, as she looked down at his serene form. He looked so innocent in his unconscious state, and if Briseis didn't know better she would never have thought that he was a dangerous warrior. She smiled at the way the morning sun shone down on his golden blonde hair, and Briseis swore that he looked just like an angel. "He really is beautiful," she confessed to herself softly as she sighed wistfully.

After a couple more moments of staring at him, she rolled her eyes and wondered what she was doing before slowly laying back down again, and just staring blankly ahead at the low ceiling.

So many thoughts were racing through her head, as she thought of the man laying just a couple of inches away from her and the nice gesture he had made to her last night. 'One good deed does not justify a lifetime of wickedness' she stubbornly thought to herself. 'But it showed that he obviously is not a wicked person,' she reasoned. 'Briseis don't be a fool!'

She rolled her eyes and inwardly groaned when she realized that she was indeed having a conversation with herself in her head. She remembered that last night she had apologized to him, and she knew she had to stick to that and be civil to him. Not that that was such a terrible thing to do, but she still felt that she was somehow betraying all of Troy by being kind to this warrior.

She suddenly felt the bed shift, and she looked over and saw that Achilles was slowly waking up. She saw him gradually open his eyes and let out a bear like yawn. He blinked once, then again, and slowly looked over to her. Her breath caught in her throat as his intense cobalt eyes bore into hers, but she found that she just couldn't look away. She was entranced by this man. She didn't understand why he was suddenly having such an affect on her; she should have never let her guard down.

"Good morning priestess," he said, in what Briseis thought was an incredibly sexy low morning growl. She quickly blinked, before looking away from his addicting gaze. She tried to utter a reply, but when no words came to her, she offered him a slight smile. "I trust you slept well?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of her.

She nodded her head slowly, taking a second before answering. "Yes, it was better than last night." She told him, as he cracked a half smile, before sitting up, and tossing the covers off of his naked body. Briseis' eyes widened and she hurriedly looked away as a pink blush crept up onto her cheeks. Achilles noticed this and couldn't help but smirk.

"Why do you look away?" he asked her, as he stood up in front of her, as she still looked away.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

"I said, why do you look away? Are you afraid?" he asked as he walked over to the washbowl and splashed some water onto his face.

"Afraid of what?" she asked, even though, she knew what he had meant.

"Of me." He said after he had dried his face.

"Why would I be afraid of you? Have I not proven numerous times that I am not?"

"You know what I mean, Briseis. Are you afraid of getting too close to me?" He asked, and Briseis wondered how in the Gods did he know?

"What? That's ridiculous. Why would I be afr—" she said turning her head to face him, but she quickly remembered his state of dress and instantly turned her head back around. "Would you _please_ cover yourself. It's making me uncomfortable." She stated; her voice clearly giving away how uncomfortable it was making her feel.

Achilles couldn't help the arrogant smirk that crept onto his face. "Well, you can undress too, if it would make you feel any better."

Briseis jaw dropped, at his words. "I am a priestess of Apollo!" She said appalled by his disrespect.

Achilles chuckled slightly, and decided he should appease her, as he grabbed a black robe and pulled it over his head. "You can look now priestess, I have put away my deadly weapon," he said smirking, as she hesitantly turned her head and let out a relieved sigh when she saw that he had told the truth. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the little cocky smirk on his handsome face.

"You think you're so great, don't you…" she said rolling her eyes at him.

He chuckled before saying. "History will think so too," he said with a cocky smirk, that Briseis hated to admit was pretty sexy.

"Is that all you care about? Whether history will remember you or not? There are many more important things in life than worrying about whether strangers will know you're name."

"You wouldn't understand." He assumed as he shook his head.

"I understand just fine!" she exclaimed. "I understand that you'd rather live a wretched life and die a tragic death than live a fulfilling one with purpose."

"What do you know about my life?" he looked at her with a sarcastic expectancy while crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"I know more than you think."

"Hmm, don't all priestesses," he said dismissively while looking out at the bright morning sun that was shining through the flaps. "One thing I know about you Briseis," he said as he turned to face her once more. "You sure do love to argue." He said as he smiled at her, and he turned to pour himself a glass of wine.

"Well, you bring it out in me," she said as she returned his smile hesitantly. "You know…people who love to argue are the most passionate."

"Or the most annoying," he said, chuckling as he saw her eyes narrow at him, and he stopped her before she could go off on him. "Joking!" he said holding his hands up defensively as he laughed. She sighed and his laughter seemed to be contagious, as she too found herself soon laughing along with him.

The two laughed for a little while longer, until their laughter eventually died down, and Achilles suddenly spoke. "I like seeing you smile…" he admitted softly, looking at her deeply, wanting to see her reaction.

She looked up at him; surprised at his spontaneous little proclamation. She didn't know what to make of the way he was looking at her… like he was amazed by the sight of her. She uttered a soft "thank you," and they spent the rest of the morning together just enjoying each other's company.

It was later on in the day, and King Agamemnon was sitting on his throne in the Kings' tent and was brooding over yesterday's events. Embarrassed and humiliated did not even begin to describe what he was feeling.

He was with his fellow Kings, King Odysseus of Ithaca and King Nestor of Pylos. He sat there with his diamond encrusted cup, and tried to let the wine dull his degradation.

"They're laughing at me in Troy," he said miserably as he got up from his throne. "Drunk… with victory!" he exclaimed with apparent contempt in his voice, as he paced the floor with the two kings on either side of him. He took a large swig of his wine before saying, "they think I'll sail home at first light."

"Maybe we should…" Odysseus suggested, causing Agamemnon to give him a preposterous look.

"Flee!" he exclaimed. "Like a whipped dog?"

"The men believe we came here for Menelaus' wife…" he paused before continuing."We won't be needing her anymore."

"My brother's blood still wets the sand, and you insult him!" Agamemnon exclaimed, shocked by Odysseus' out right disrespect for his dead brother.

"It's no insult to say a dead man is dead." Odysseus said matter of factly.

"If we leave now, we loose all credibility," Nestor's low voice interrupted the two men. "If the Trojans can beat us so easily, it won't be long until the Hittites invade."

"If we stay… we stay here for the right reasons. To protect Greece, not your pride." Odysseus said, looking at Agamemnon sharply, before continuing "Your private battle with Achilles is destroying us."

"Achilles is one man!"

"Hector is one man!" Odysseus said stiffly, his hard eyes boring through Agamemnon, cutting him off. "And look what he did to us yesterday!"

"Hector fights for his country! Achilles fights only for himself!"

"I don't care about the man's allegiance; I care about his abilities to win battles!" Odysseus exclaimed.

"He's right," Nestor chimed in, causing Agamemnon to avert his attention towards him. "The men's morale is weak."

"Well even if I could make peace with Achilles… the man won't listen to me!" Agamemnon shouted holding up his hands. "He's more likely to spear me than to speak to me!"

Odysseus rubbed his thick auburn beard before saying, "Well you did take his slave girl away from him!"

"Don't remind me of that Trojan filth," Agamemnon warned him in a low voice.

Odysseus looked at the scab that had formed on Agamemnon's head and couldn't help but snicker lightly before saying, "Oh yes, how is your head Agamemnon? I hope she didn't hit you too hard."

After that little remark, Agamemnon could hardly control his anger. He knew everybody in the Greek camp, and probably Troy too, was laughing at him because a Trojan slave outsmarted him. And not only that but a woman!

He narrowed his eyes at him as he said in a low menacing voice "I vow on my dead brother's ashes, that girl will be dead by the time I leave Troy… make no mistake about it. I will find that wench, and I will kill her personally with my own two hands!" he promised, with a look of frightening sincerity that Odysseus or Nestor had never seen before.

As if on cue, Nestor's gray eyes lit up as he had suddenly remembered something; something one of his soldiers had told him earlier that day.

"Wait… I just remembered, one of my men had told me that they had seen Achilles late last night with what looked to be a girl walking along the shore." Nestor told him.

"What?" Agamemnon said walking over to Nestor slowly, before stopping in front of him, an looking down at him.

"He said she had looked like the Trojan girl." Nestor said hesitantly, as he watched Agamemnon's eyes grew red with hate. "I had meant to tell you… but I guess it had slipped my mind."

Agamemnon was silent for a brief moment as he seethed in his anger. The two other men watched as he took a deep breath before saying, "so Achilles is keeping the slave girl safe…" he said more to himself than to anyone in particular. "We'll see about that!" he exclaimed as he started for the opening of the tent, but not before Odysseus stood up and grabbed him forearm firmly.

"Wait!" he said, making Agamemnon snap his head around and stare at Odysseus, his anger quickly growing. "You need to make peace with Achilles!"

"The man is openly defying me! I can't let him do that! I must teach him to obey his king!" he yelled, clearly outraged.

"We _need _him to win this war for us!" Odysseus reasoned. "We can't win this without him, Agamemnon. You know this."

"I don't care!" He bellowed.

"We can't afford another loss!" Odysseus yelled, matching Agamemnon's, as Nestor sat and watched the two men argue.

"I will not have him humiliate me like this!"

"Would you rather be humiliated by Troy?" Odysseus questioned, which made Agamemnon stop for a second and think. After a moment of silence, he decided what he must do.

"I am sorry Odysseus, but I can not let Achilles win. I will take the girl, and she will die tonight!" he said firmly, his eyes showing how serious this was to him. He took one more quick drink from his wine cup before turning and leaving. Leaving both of the men to look at his retreating from in shock, and they knew that Agamemnon would be his own downfall.

Hey thanks for reading! sorry this chapter was so short, but i didn't feel the need to make it any longer, anyways... **_please review!_** lol thanx!


	8. Chapter Eight

Hey guys! sorry it tooksuch a_long_ time to post this chapter but 1st my computer wasn't working, then i finished the chapter and forgot to save it, so i had to write like half of it over again! ugh yea it was ridiculous!

Anywayz... i dunno kno if you guyz are gonna like this chapter but wutever... can't say that i didn't try. but hopefully u will like it. and just wanted to say againi know nothing about the illiad or greek myths... i know i should've done my 'research' but i just don't have that kind of time! All i know is i like the movie! lol

Also thanx _so_ much for all those reviews i really appreciated them! and hopefully u will all review this chapter as well!

R&R

Chapter Eight

The sun had almost set on the Greek camp, and night time was near. Briseis and Achilles were still nestled in the little hut, and the mood between them was good.

She had been elated when Achilles had told her how Troy had won a great victory yesterday and that the beaten and battered Greeks would not be going into battle that day. So Achilles and Briseis had spent the whole day together, minus a little time when Achilles had left to go converse with Patroclus. Briseis still had yet meet Achilles' young cousin, and she was a bit curious to meet the young soldier.

Her time spent with Achilles had gone well today, and she was gradually accepting the fact that she was slowly starting to enjoy his company. She had pretty much confessed to herself that she was physically attracted to him. There was no denying the way his intense blue eyes made her unconsciously blush, or that when he smiled she could undoubtedly feel her heart flutter. Yes, she was very much attracted to him. But how could she not be? Any woman with a pulse would be.

But she swore to herself that would never act on her supposed feelings. She couldn't. No matter how she looked at it, he was still her enemy… just an incredibly sexy one.

They were sitting across from one another on the sandy floor with the food tray sitting between them, as they ate some food that Eudorus had just brought for them.

It was pretty much silent as Achilles peeled a green apple and Briseis, who hadn't eaten pretty much all day, hungrily gorged herself on the food.

Achilles watched her with silent eyes, and smiled to himself. He had liked spending the day with her today, and he knew that she had liked it too. Briseis was such a complex person, and he wanted to know everything about her. Each moment he spent with her it seemed like he learned something new.

She had so much to offer, but he couldn't get enough of her; it seemed he always wanted to know more. He wanted to know what made her say the things she said, and how she felt about him, and if she still wanted to leave him and go back to Troy. He wanted to know it all.

He didn't understand his fascination with her nor did he really care. He just knew that he wanted to be near her.

He looked at her, and it looked as if she wanted to say something but was contemplating whether to say it or not. Achilles looked her for a minute longer, before returning his gaze back to his apple. He cut the apple into a couple of pieces, before casually slipping one into his awaiting mouth.

"I liked being here with you today…" Briseis confessed softly in a timid voice, making Achilles look up surprised at her sudden admission, figuring that that was what she had wanted to say. Briseis gave him a shy smile as her face turned a pretty pink. When his eyes met hers, she hurriedly looked down at her lap, not able to match his gaze. She couldn't believe that she had just said that.

"I liked being here with you too," he told her softly, as he hesitantly reached out his hand and gently lifted up her face and made her look at him. "Briseis… don't ever be afraid to tell me anything. I want to hear what you have to say." He told her in a gentle voice that Briseis would not expect to come from a great warrior.

"I'm not afraid to say anything…" she said slightly offended by his remark. "Rather… I just didn't know how to tell you. I just thought that you would like to know." She said, hurriedly making up an excuse. But in truth, she was a little nervous to confess such a thing to him. Achilles could see right through her and smiled at her nonetheless, as he dropped his hand from her supple cheek, and brought it back into his lap.

"Of course..." he said with a light smile, before eating another piece of the apple.

"Why do you have that little smile on your face?" she asked. "As if you know of something that I do not."

"I know that you're beautiful," he said in a husky voice and completely out of the blue, which Briseis did not expect at all. "But then again… you probably know that too." Briseis felt her cheeks get hot, and she tried to hide the smile that wanted to form on her face as she looked away.

"Don't say such things…" she said softly, even though she knew that she wished he would say things like that all day.

"It's true…" he trailed off tilting his head to the side; still looking at her. "Briseis… why don't you believe me when I tell you?" He asked her honestly.

But Briseis suddenly thought of something. 'This man probably has bed every girl in Greece, and here he is telling you that you're beautiful! Oh please, Briseis don't be a fool!' she thought bitterly to herself, as the wistful look on her face quickly fell away.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep, I'm tired." She said suddenly, before adding a clearly fake yawn for effect. Achilles looked at her confused at her abrupt abandonment, and the even more obvious fake yawn.

"But the sun has barely set," he said looking at her with uncertainty.

"Well it has been a long day," she said a little too defensively, before getting up and walking the short distance over to the bed. She pulled back the fur coverings before saying, "I would appreciate if you would let me sleep under the fur tonight, considering that you did so last night."

He looked up at her, and was shocked and confused at her behavior. It seemed every time the two took a step forward, she always made sure they took two steps back. He watched her lay down and pull the fur over her body, while settling peacefully into _his_ bed. She didn't even bother to get an answer from him, and Achilles' jaw almost dropped when she even closed her eyes.

He slowly stood up and walked over to her. He stood directly over her and crossed his arms across his chest while looking down at her. Feeling his presence towering over her, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. The two shared a look, before Achilles gradually crouched down beside the bed. The two were inches apart, and Briseis' female senses kicked in when she smelled his nearness.

"What is it Briseis?" he asked her softly, but with much determination in his voice. "What is this about?"

She waited a second before answering. "What is what about?" she said, even though of course she knew what he was talking about.

"You know," he stated calmly, his voice never getting higher than a whisper. "We had a nice day today, and now you want to start acting funny. I'm tired of your little games."

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said dryly as she turned around, and faced the other way, causing her back to face him.

Achilles got frustrated and his temper immediately soared at her blatant display of disregard for him. He roughly grabbed her shoulder, and turned her around making her face him once more. When she was facing him, he grabbed her other shoulder as well and made sure she was looking directly at him.

"Briseis! Don't make me loose my temper!" he growled through gritted teeth.

Briseis looked at him, apparently unfazed by him, and tried to pry his large hands off of her shoulders, but realizing it was no use considering his strength. "I think you already have!" she exclaimed, before adding, "and don't touch me!"

He breathed in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, and reluctantly let go of her. He was still very much heated from her abrupt behavior, but he was really trying to stay calm. "Briseis why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what to you? I'm just trying to go to sleep." She said, clearly sounding bored with the whole conversation.

"Why do we always have to argue like this?" he shouted, clearly annoyed and enraged by her apparent lack of interest.

"Why do you care so much? I'm just another woman, aren't I? Just another woman to mistreat and discard like chattel!" she exclaimed for the first time fully showing her anger.

"Briseis, I have never mistreated you, and you know this. To accuse me of such a thing is ludicrous. You are nothing but another spoiled royal!" he yelled.

At this accusation she immediately sat up and yelled, "And you… are nothing but a bloodthirsty killer, who knows nothing about anything outside of a battlefield!" Briseis knew her words weren't true, but she had to say something!

She watched him as he said nothing but instead he let out a long breath and just stared at her. He slowly shook his head and looked at her as if her were trying to figure out.

She could feel his eyes on her and she felt the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she looked up and found herself staring back into his deep eyes.

Achilles stared at the beautiful woman before him, and he didn't know how he had resisted her for so long, but he couldn't do it any longer. Not tonight.

Looking at her in the dim candle light, at that moment, made her look even more irresistible to him. He licked his pink lips unconsciously before bringing his hand back up to her face and reaching out to slowly trace his thumb over her round crimson lips.

She let out a slow aching breath as she saw his desire filled look, and she knew that something was about to happen. All of her physical feelings for this man had built up, and she didn't know if she could resist him if he tried anything on her. And from the look in his eyes; he was definitely going to try something.

She inhaled sharply when his hands left her lips, and he gently pushed her back down onto the bed. She laid back and stared up into his passion filled eyes. The look he was giving her was worth a thousand words. She watched as his eyes left her eyes, and looked down at her lips, before meeting hers once more. The sexual tension was so thick; you could cut it with a knife.

No words were spoken as he softly moved her russet hair away from her neck and bent his head to place a single butterfly kiss on her neck. He looked up at her to see her reaction; and when she didn't push him away he started to shower her milky skin with soft kisses.

Briseis closed her eyes as her senses were going into overload. She didn't know what to think. No man had ever touched her in a sexual type way, no less kissed her! But she knew she liked it… and she had a hard time figuring out if that was a good thing or not.

Achilles gradually worked his way up her neck, kissed her ear, cheek, nose, and her hovered over her lips. She slowly opened dazed her eyes and was met with his passion filled orbs.

She suddenly got nervous when she saw him lean in to kiss her. She flattened her hand against his hard chest to stop him. Her looked at her confused by her actions, but said nothing.

"What are you doing…" she whispered in a small voice, and when Achilles looked at her he finally realized how truly venerable she was.

"I'm doing what you want me to…" he whispered, gently caressing her soft cheek. He looked down at her and tried to give her a reassuring smile, before he slowly leaned down to kiss her again.

Briseis' common sense kicked in and she realized just what was in fact happening. She was giving into him. She knew that this was wrong, but why did she want it so bad! Half of her was screaming for her to kiss him and to make love to him tonight, but the other half was screaming for her to stop this madness before it got out of control.

The latter won out, and she turned her head, which forced him to kiss her cheek instead. He closed his eyes in frustration and sat up. He looked down at her, and found that she still couldn't look back at him.

He said nothing at first... he wasn't exactly sure what he should say. He was so confused by her. He knew from the look in her eyes that she wanted him, and he obviously wanted her… so what was the problem?

He turned her head with his large hand so she could look at him, before speaking in a delicate tone. "What's wrong?"

Briseis didn't answer immediately as she searched for something to say. "I don't think I… we should... not tonight…" she trailed off looking to see what he was going to say.

"That's fine Briseis… but when are you going to learn to trust me?" He asked still caressing her cheek. "I want it to be different between us... tell me what I have to do…" He whispered in a husky voice, which made Briseis to look at him in question.

"Achilles… I think we should get some sleep…"she said, trying to avoid the subject that he was clearly thinking of.

"Why don—"

"ACHILLES!" Achilles' words were cut off unrepentantly by a man's, who they both recognized to be Agamemnon, thunderous yell from outside of the hut. Achilles jerked his head in the direction of the shout, and Briseis jumped a little from the sudden outburst.

After a few moments Agamemnon yelled once more, this time even louder. Achilles stood up and uttered a quick, but firm, "stay here," to Briseis before exiting the hut. Briseis couldn't help but feel frightened at the fact that she didn't know what was about to happen.

Achilles stepped outside of the tent and was met with a smug looking Agamemnon, and a dozen other soldiers.

The two men stared each other down and Agamemnon was the first to speak. "Beautiful night…. wouldn't you agree?" he said motioning to the stars.

Achilles seemed unmoved by his statement and focused his eyes on Agamemnon. He didn't like being called out like some slave, and his face showed his anger. "What do want Agamemnon?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Somehow… I doubt that you came here to talk about the stars."

"Can't a king come to see his greatest warrior?" Agamemnon asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"I will ask you once more, what is it that you came here for?" Achilles said in a low growl. Agamemnon's face dropped and he decided that he should stop evading the issue.

"Give me the girl." He stated simply. Achilles narrowed his eyes… somehow he wasn't surprised.

"I don't know what you are talking about…" Achilles lied; but he couldn't just hand her over to him.

"Achilles I know you've been hiding the Trojan slave. Give her to me!" he demanded

"Or what?" Achilles challenged. "Or you'll kill me?" Achilles said smirking at the ridiculous thought… and Agamemnon cursed under his breath because he wished that he could do just that.

"Fine!" Agamemnon yelled. I'll just take her!" Achilles looked at him warily before Agamemnon shouted, "Get him!"

Achilles saw four soldiers coming toward him and he reached for his sword at his hip but silently cursed when he remembered that he only had his robe on. The soldiers grabbed him as he saw tow other soldiers barge into the hut.

When he heard Briseis' ear piercing scream he tried urgently to free himself from the soldier's firm hold. He elbowed one of the soldiers in the face and then managed to break another one's neck. He was almost free until the remaining four soldiers came and helped the other two soldiers control him. He tried desperately to free himself but he could not escape from the six men's unyielding hold on him. His breathing was heavy as he realized even with his great strength the men just outnumbered him.

Agamemnon laughed triumphantly at the sight before him. He had waited a long time to see Achilles in this weak state… and it was better that he could have ever imagined.

His eyes immediately filled with rage and his jaw clenched with anger when he saw the two soldiers emerge with a kicking and screaming Briseis in their arms. The two soldiers had to struggle to contain her as they brought her over to Agamemnon.

Agamemnon grabbed her and pushed her back up against her chest. Achilles' heart dropped when Agamemnon didn't hesitate to hold a sharp knife against Briseis tender throat.

"I want you to watch her die…" Agamemnon said sinisterly, and he was just about to deepen the blade in her throat before he was stopped by Achilles' desperate shout.

"DON'T!" Agamemnon looked up at Achilles and smiled. "Don't kill her!"

"Is mighty Achilles actually begging?" he said chuckling, as he lessened the intensity of the blade on Briseis' throat.

"Don't kill her!" Achilles exclaimed once more, and for the first time in his life he was begging… but he felt he had no choice.

"And why not?

"You are loosing this war?" he stated more than asked, and Agamemnon hesitantly shook his head yes. "I will fight for you if you let her live. You know I can turn the tide of the war." He reasoned, and Achilles had never felt lower than he had at that moment, but he knew that he couldn't' bare to see Briseis die… not now. And he knew he had to do something.

Briseis looked at Achilles and her heart broke. This strong warrior was actually begging for her life. She felt so undeserving, and she knew that she couldn't let him fight for this pig of a king. "Achilles, no! Don't fight for him!" she declared more bravely than anyone would've thought, before adding in a lower voice, "I'm not afraid to die!"

But Agamemnon hardly heard her; all he was thinking about was Achilles offer. He knew Nestor and Odysseus had said that they needed Achilles to win this war against Troy, and perhaps this girl would prove useful after all. "I accept your offer Achilles… but if you break your side of the bargain… the girl dies!" he threatened before turning and leaving; dragging a desolate Briseis behind him.

The soldiers waited until Agamemnon and Briseis were long gone before they quickly let Achilles go and ran off into the night. But Achilles didn't notice. All he could think about was Briseis, and how she was gone.

Thanx for reading this chap! _please review_! again,if u must flame please don't be too mean! thanx


	9. Chapter Nine

Hey! Sorry for the long update... but ya know how life is! sometimes stuff just happens, lol. But yeah thanx for all of ur reviews still... it means a lot. i'm not a pro writer or anything (obviously) but i thought I'd give it a go! lol

But yeah anywayz... yeah i don't if u guys will like this chapter it's sorta okay i guess... i did it really quick! but yeah sooner when a & b reunite things will get steamier (hopefully!) lol... anywayz ok R&R please!

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Chapter Nine

Achilles stayed there, on his knees in the white sand, for quite some time. Still trying to register exactly what had just happened. Nothing like this had ever happened to him in his life and he was in complete and total shock.

He didn't know how long he had been kneeling there; time seemed to stand still as the events of what had just happened kept on replaying in his mind.

The Myrmidons had come out of their tents and they were all shocked and saddened to see the state that their mighty leader was in. They had never seen the great Achilles so lost and dismayed, and they all had to take a double take when they saw a single tear make its way down Achilles pink cheek.

No one wanted to say anything to the warrior; they were all afraid that he might snap on them and do something irrational. But Patroclus couldn't bear to see his elder cousin like this a second longer, so he stepped forward and spoke his name with uncertainty.

"Achilles…" Patroclus uttered his name with as much valor as he could muster. No answer.

"Achilles…" he tried again, this time with a little bit more firmness, only to be greeted once more with no answer, making Patroclus let out a frustrated sigh. "Cousin!" he exclaimed, and finally Achilles snapped out of his trance, and slowly turned his head and focused his watery blue eyes on Patroclus. "Cousin… have you forgotten who you are? Get up off of your knees and dry your eyes. Do not let one woman take away your pride! It disgusts me how you could let her reduce you to such a sorry mess of your former self!"

Achilles' eyes, which had been a somber void moments before, lit up with anger at his remark, and he immediately got up off of his knees and stared down at his cousin with an infuriated stare.

"You know nothing about me and Briseis so do not pretend that you do!" Achilles declared.

"I know that she has changed you!" Patroclus accused. "The old Achilles would never have yielded to emotion and made a bargain with that snake Agamemnon!"

"You were the one that wanted to fight! Were you not? And now that we are, you suddenly do not wish to? What sense do you make cousin!"

"Yes, I had wanted to fight—but not at the cost of you losing your pride! What has she done to make you this way? I have never in my life seen you cry. And now you weep openly for all to see!"

"You know nothing about my pride! And you know nothing about my feelings for Briseis!" Achilles voice boomed. "And you will learn your place Patroclus!" He shouted before turning abruptly and storming into his hut. Patroclus did nothing but shoot an icy glare at the hut that Achilles had just disappeared into, before going back into his tent.

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It was very early morning and Achilles had not slept all night, he hadn't realized how much he had gotten used to Briseis being around, until she was in fact gone.

He had been alone most of his life, but now he had no idea how he had ever gotten used to the feeling. Nor did he have any idea how he had ever actually liked the feeling.

He hadn't even attempted to sleep; knowing that his uneasy mind and heart would never allow one bit of slumber. Instead he drank his sorrow away—or at least he tried to.

He drank himself into a babbling stupor, and he had even imagined that Briseis was right there next to him, and he carried on a conversation with her accordingly. Until he came to his senses, and realized what in fact he was doing, he started to sob realizing that Briseis was not with him and he didn't know if she ever would be with him again.

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It was noon, and had finally Achilles woken up. He had finally gone to sleep early that morning, and he had slept all morning long.

He slowly opened his eyes and he was surprised to see a man was in his hut. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and realized that the man was Eudorus. He said nothing – not really sure of what he wanted.

"You have finally awoken, my lord…" Eudorus spoke uneasily. When Achilles only uttered what sounded like a grunt, Eudorus spoke once more. "My Lord? Are you okay?" he asked nervously.

Achilles still said nothing, and Eudorus was becoming increasingly more nervous. It looked like the sleep had calmed him down a bit, but he knew Achilles was a very volatile individual, and Eudorus was hoping that he wouldn't take his anger and frustration out on him. "My Lord—" Eudorus started again, but Achilles' harsh voice cut him off.

"What is it that you want?" he asked in a gruff voice, and Eudorus hurried to get to his point.

"I had just wanted to tell you that you have the full support of all of the Myrmidons when we go into battle tomorrow…"

"Why did you feel the need to tell me this? You tell me this as if I were to believe otherwise," he said narrowing his eyes at the clear-eyed soldier.

Eudorus hurried to explain himself, "Well… I mean we didn't know what state you were in my lord… we had never seen you so low and—"

"I'm fine Eudorus!" he harshly cut him off, as his angry eyes cut into him. "And the rest of the Myrmidons need not to think that they will fight… we will not be going into battle tomorrow." He said lowly, his voice gruff, as Eudorus' eyes widened at the sudden information.

"What? But you told Agamemnon—"

"Never mind what I told Agamemnon. I'm telling you that we will not fight tomorrow," he cut him off in an eerily calm voice. "Tell the men that tomorrow they will dress in their armor as if they are going to battle but do not march." He said before focusing his red eyes on Eudorus, and for the first time Eudorus could actually see the pain reflected in his blue orbs. He would've never imagined that a mere slave girl could have such a deep impact on such a great warrior as Achilles.

But he simply bowed his head in understanding, and obediently turned to leave the hut. But before he could leave, Achilles voice stopped him.

"How is Patroclus?" he asked with sincerity. "Is he still angry with me?" No matter how frustrating Patroclus could be, he really loved his young cousin, and he didn't want to be in ill favor with him.

Eudorus turned his head and answered, "As angry as he should be, I suppose." And with that he pulled the flaps aside and left Achilles with his thoughts once more.

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The experience was all too familiar for Briseis. Being dragged and beaten… again.

But now instead of the original two guards, there were now half a dozen guards watching over her. Apparently Agamemnon had learned from his mistake, and he was obviously not fooling around this time.

It was a scary situation for Briseis. She had been dragged in the coarse sand all the way to the Kings' tent, and she had the cuts and scrapes on her well toned legs to prove it.

And now she was sitting on the sandy floor in some dark candle-lit room in the Kings' tent. She felt her heart drop when she realized she wished Achilles was with her now more than anything.

She let out a low hiss when she smoothed her dirty hand over a particularly painful scrape that ran along the underside of her calf. The stinging sensation ran throughout her leg, and Briseis couldn't help the tear that trickled down her soiled cheek.

When she heard one of them snicker, she looked up sharply and focused her dark eyes on the pack of Greek soldiers. She narrowed her eyes at them and angrily wiped away the tear at her cheek; suddenly feeling angry with herself for letting these pigs see her weakness.

"Say Timeus… you think she still deserves to wear that virgin robe?" one of the soldiers asked another with a sickening chuckle.

The soldier she assumed to be Timeus snickered before saying, "I wonder if Achilles has deflowered her yet… or if we'll be given the honor." The other soldiers chuckled as Timeus bent down to Briseis' level and reached his large hand out and caressed her soft thigh.

Briseis froze when she felt his grimy hand travel up her leg and her eyes darted to his hand. She unconsciously held her breath hoping his hand would not venture too far up.

The other soldiers snickered in the background, obviously enjoying watching the Trojan on edge.

With a sly smile Timeus moved his hand further up her thigh. When his hand started moving under her torn and tattered robe, Briseis realized that he was not just toying with her.

Within the blink of an eye, she grabbed onto his wrist as hard as she could, and her blood shot eyes locked onto his. "Don't… touch me." She pronounced each word with such decisive malice that even the soldiers were a little taken aback.

Timeus' eyes initially widened with shock, but quickly narrowed with contempt. With his other hand he grabbed Briseis' hand and squeezed harder that Briseis thought possible and she could not help the painful yelp that fell from her lips, and the new tears that stung her red eyes.

"What did you say Trojan?" he asked in a menacing tone as he twisted her wrist in a very painful position. Her heart started racing when out of the corner of her eye she noticed another soldier lifting up her robe. She tried to swat him away with her free hand, but instead she met with a sharp blow to her face.

Briseis didn't even recognize the helpless scream that left her as she closed her eyes tight and tried to block out the soldiers contemptuous laughter. She lay there limply as she felt more pairs of gritty hands on her body now, and she dared not open her eyes to see what was being done to her.

When she felt her precious robe being ripped from her bruised body, her eyes widened, and she knew that she would not let them take her without a fight… even if it was useless.

All at once, Briseis began hitting, scratching, kicking, and punching anything that she could touch. But of course her little outburst didn't last long, as the soldiers quickly and easily pinned her arms and legs down.

"You little bitch!" One soldier cursed examining his forearm, which she appeared to have scratched. "The little wench made me bleed!" he exclaimed to the other soldiers, before narrowing his eyes at Briseis.

Briseis stared back at him with hateful eyes, and tried one more futile attempt at getting free. She let out a ferocious growl before she spat out, "Apollo shall curse you! He shall curse you all!"

The soldiers did nothing but laugh at her words, before one soldier, who ha not spoken up before, said, "Oh really? Well then I guess we should jus—" The soldier was suddenly cut off by a booming voice that came from the entry way.

"Men!" The soldiers all turned to looked at Agamemnon who had appeared in the entry way "Leave me and my Trojan prize…" he ordered lowly shooting Briseis a menacing stare. The men all smirked and snickered and released their hold on Briseis before leaving her and Agamemnon alone.

There was a moment of silence between the two as they exchanged glances. Briseis shooting him a disgusted one, and Agamemnon throwing her an amused one.

He looked at her torn robe, messed up hair, and bruised body before breaking the thick silence. "I'm deeply sorry about my soldiers milady…" Agamemnon offered her a beyond obvious fake apology, before continuing on in the same tone. "But if I do say so, the dirty and beaten slave act does suite you… I mean I see that you have somehow managed to get mighty Achilles wrapped around your little finger."

When Briseis said nothing but her eyes continued to burn a hole into him, he smirked and slowly advanced closer to her. Agamemnon had a sickening smirk on her face and Briseis had an intense urge to empty the contents of her stomach when the king knelt down to her level.

"I know what you think that I'm going to do to you… and perhaps I should…" he trailed, and he got some sick form of pleasure when he saw Briseis visibly tense up. "But I have no desire to be inside anything that Achilles has already been in—"

"Don't touch me," Briseis cut him off in a monotone voice, when Agamemnon started to trail his index finger down her arm. And all at once the smirk quickly fell from Agamemnon's face, as he grabbed Briseis upper arm, and twisted it painfully behind her back.

Briseis screamed from the pain, as Agamemnon said his next words. "I can do anything I want… for I am the high king of Greece. And it won't be long until I'm the king of Troy as well." He whispered in her hair.

Briseis' laughter rang in his ear like a gong, as she said her next words, "I doubt that… King Priam has the finest army in the Aegean. You shall never conquer Troy!"

At her words Agamemnon twisted her arm even farther back, and threw her forward, so she fell face first into the sand, causing her cry to be muffled by the white sand.

"_I_ have the finest army the world has ever seen! Me! Agamemnon!" He shouted so fiercely that Briseis could see the veins in the side of his neck popping out.

Briseis spit the sand that had went into her mouth before yelling back at him, "If your army is so great why is it that they have not won a single battle against Troy!"

Agamemnon said nothing, but just took in deeps breaths as he thought of something to say to counter her. Briseis watched his chest rise and fall with narrowed eyes, and a half smile formed on her face when she realize that she had rendered the king speechless, because what she had said was in fact the truth.

"The truth hurts doesn't it?" she remarked crudely. "Prince Hector will annihilate your men and—"

"That's where you are wrong, milady…" Agamemnon cut her off abruptly. "Now that I have you in my clutches… your little lover boy Achilles is forcing himself to fight, although I can't imagine why he would for such Trojan filth as yourself." He spat out with obvious disgust. "But I must admit… I can't thank you enough, for you have certainly proved yourself to be useful… if it wasn't for you it probably would not have been a Greek victory. But with Achilles and his mighty Myrmidons in battle Troy's fate is sealed…"

Briseis eyes lit upin anger as she crossly yelled, "You bastard!"

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Achilles sighed as he looked up at the night sky. He was walking along the beach, thinking about his captive that had turned out to mean more to him than he could've thought.

This empty feeling was not a new feeling for him; rather he had felt pretty empty his whole life. But there was something perceptibly different about the feeling he was feeling now… it was unimaginably worse.

The time that he had spent with Briseis, and really explored his feelings for her… he realized a lot of things about himself and the life that he had been living.

It was true that he loved the glory and the recognition he had received from being a virtually unstoppable warrior. And the utter power that he felt from being on the battle field was addicting… it dawned on him that being with Briseis and the feeling that possessed him whenever she was around, was better than anything that he had ever experienced.

And it amazed him how hard these intense feelings had unexpectedly crashed into him. It was as if in the blink of an eye she had him. He did not remember when he had fallen, but somehow he could not imagine not loving her. Even though Briseis had been in his world a relatively short amount of time, it was as if somewhere deep in his soul he had always loved her. Achilles shook his head at the crazy thought, but he realized it was true.

And he knew he had to get her back.

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ok... please review! if u hate it, please try and give me constructive criticism and not just totally bash me! cuz i tried! lol! k bye!


	10. Chapter Ten

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took a **_looooooooooooooooooooooooooong_** time, but I sorta lost interest, but I just broke-up with my b/f and I've been feeling _really_ _extra_ depressed, so I needed something to take my mind off of him, so I decided to start writing again! Lol I'm startin to feel better! Lol… but yeah… 

Sorry again, but part of it was that I'm in college now (I'm not majoring in writing), so duh I have a lot more important things to worry about.

I hope you guyz haven't lost interest yet! (Hopefully no!) k.. well please R&R!

Chapter Ten

It was the next morning and the blazing sun was beginning to peak over the calm horizon. The Greek soldiers had long been awake, and they were mentally and physically preparing themselves for the battle that was looming over their heads.

This morning was no different than any morning that preceded a battle. The camp was bizarrely silent and solemn as the men prayed to any God that they could for protection, as they suited themselves up for battle.

On the Myrmidons side of the camp, the men were also suiting up for battle, but as the rest of the army started marching toward the Trojan walls, the Myrmidons lagged behind.

Achilles made sure that all of the kings and generals were in the front of the line and could not see that the Myrmidons were in fact not marching with the army.

The men gathered outside of Achilles' hut, and waited for their leader. After a couple of minutes, Achilles emerged from his hut fully dressed in his battle armor as well.

He gave his men a quick talk, since he knew that Eudorus had told them what they were going to be doing.

When the Greek army had marched out of sight, all of the Myrmidons, except Patroclus who was still angry and decided to stay behind, advanced forward toward the Kings' ship. Achilles knew that Agamemnon would've left a couple dozen soldiers behind to watch over Briseis, but Agamemnon did not even check to make sure that Achilles went into battle. _'Idiot'_ Achilles thought to himself.

There were three soldiers standing guard outside, and when they noticed Achilles and his Myrmidons marching towards them they grew visibly nervous, but they still attempted to stand their ground.

Achilles firmly walked up to the three men before calmly saying, "Step aside, and your life will be spared."

The three soldiers said nothing as they looked fearfully at each other. One of them finally mustered enough courage to say, " K- King A-A-Agamemnon gave us strict orders t—"

"I will tell you all once more—step aside and your life will be spared."

As the soldier was once again about to open his mouth to say something, Achilles quickly cut his throat, and two of his Myrmidons quickly took care of the other two soldiers, before making their way into the ship.

"Where is Briseis!" Achilles shouted when they came upon a group of soldiers as they entered the ship.

One fairly large soldier was the only one brave enough to answer. "King Agamemnon has ordered us to not allow anyone in here," the soldier stated with more self-assurance than Achilles would've liked.

Achilles did no even bother to say anything back to the arrogant soldier as he quickly slashed his face and decapitated him, and within mere moments the other soldiers were killed as well.

"Men, disperse, and look in each and every room until you have found her," Achilles ordered, and they quickly did as they told—slaughtering any soldier they saw.

Briseis was crouched down in the corner of some room when she was awoken from her restless sleep as she heard what she thought was the sound of men dying. Her eyes flew open as she felt a large rough hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the man, and realized it was not one of the soldiers that had been holding her captive.

"Achilles!" The man called out, and Briseis felt her heart flutter with realization that he had come for her. A single tear fell from eyes when he appeared in the entryway.

She heard him whisper her name in a barely audible voice, when his eyes finally spotted her, and he wasted no time closing the distance between them.

"Briseis…" he whispered her name again as he bent down to where she was and embraced her, closing his eyes as he buried his face in her hair.

"I thought you would never come…" she whispered through a smile.

Achilles pulled back to look at her, and was surprised to see her face glistening with tears. "Why do you cry? I'm here now." He assured her softly, while gently wiping away her tears with his thumb. This made her cry even harder, and he smiled softly before reaching for her wrists to untie the rope that bound them together.

The rope had cut deep into her skin, and he brought her each of her wrists up to his face and kissed them, all the while still looking into her watery eyes.

He slowly brought her wrists back down before saying, "come," and he gently lifted her up and carried her out of the ship. He had to step over all of the dead soldiers, and he realized that there were quite a lot of them.

Achilles thanked all of his Myrmidons, as they all made their way back to their huts.

Briseis closed her eyes, relishing in the fact that she was with Achilles once again…in his arms once more. She felt so safe and secure in his strong arms, and she knew that she never wanted to be away this man again.

She felt eyes on her, and she looked up and saw him looking lovingly down at her, she smiled weakly and was beyond happy when they were back inside Achilles' hut.

He slowly laid her down on the soft fur, and Briseis loved how extra gentle he was being with her. It was as if she was some precious stone, and Briseis smiled inwardly when she realized that that's what she was to him. She _was_ precious to him… she was his.

She looked up and saw him looking at her; he gave her a small smile before lying down next to her and softly asking, "are you okay?"

Briseis' heartbeat quickened when she felt his breath so close to her. "I am… now…" she answered wistfully in an equally soft tone. He smiled at her and reached his hand out to slowly caress her cheek, happy when she did not pull away. His heart sank when he realized that she had acquired even more cuts and bruises on her face, as if she hadn't had enough before.

"So am I…" he whispered. He felt one of her small hands reach up and start to twirl one his golden blonde locks with a petite finger. "It seemed as though we were apart for a lifetime… I can't ever loose you again Briseis." He stated, as his eyes turned very serious. "I _won't_ loose you again."

"Achilles… let's not think about the future, let's just think about right now… we're together right now…let's just think about that…" she whispered gently bringing her hand to his face, and slowly caressing it. He reached up and grabbed her hand in his, and brought it to his mouth, kissing the back of it.

"How did I ever live without you?" he expressed with so much emotion, if Briseis didn't know better she would've thought he was about to cry.

"Briseis… when you were gone I felt as if I would go insane… Being without you… I could hardly breathe. I was walking and eating and talking, but I felt like I was dead. Someone should have killed me, because I—"

"Don't say that," she interjected softly, putting a finger on his lips.

He grabbed her hand from his lips before saying, "It's true Briseis… tell me you feel the same." He paused and waited for her to say something, when she said nothing he cupped her face and brought her closer to him. "I know you feel it too Briseis. The gods have brought us together… this is right… don't fight it anymore…" He said, and now their faces were barely millimeters apart.

Briseis felt a warmth between her thighs as she felt his other hand on the small of her back pressing her body painfully close to his. Their faces were so close that she was breathing in his breath and he was breathing in hers, and Briseis swore her heart was beating obnoxiously loud.

"Briseis…" she heard him whispered her name once more before he at last closed the gap between them.

Briseis thought that she would die when she felt his soft lips moving ever so slowly against hers. She felt him bury his hand in her curls as he deepened the kiss. He coaxed her mouth open causing her to let out a low moan when, which fueled Achilles' want even more. He felt Briseis' hand slowly caress the expanse of his back, as she welcomed his tongue.

Briseis let out another groan as she felt Achilles put all of his weight on her as he further deepened the kiss. She felt his rough hand move under her robe to gently caress her smooth thigh, and she buried her hands in his hair trying desperately to bring his mouth closer, as if that were really possible.

Achilles finally pulled away to get a quick breath, but did not waste any time to attack Briseis' neck. Briseis arched her back, trying to get closer to him. "Achilles…" she hissed through clenched teeth, and he sucked on a particularly tender spot on her neck.

Achilles showered her neck with tender kisses, before making his way back up to her face. He placed both of his hands on either side her body, and just stared down at her.

'_She is so beautiful' _he thought to himself as he took her in. Her red oh so kissable lips that were puffy, no doubt from the intense kiss that they had just shared, and the way her wild curls framed her perfectly pink flushed face; and Achilles smiled when he saw that her eyes were still closed and she had a dreamy look on her face.

He also could not help but notice the way her chest was rising and falling with each breath she took, making him aware of how breathless the kiss had in fact made him.

"Briseis, look at me…" he told her softly, and watched at her dazed eyes slowly fluttered open. "This... this is… wonderful—"

"Then why did you stop?" she asked, interrupting him, her hand still caressing his broad back, and Achilles was surprised by the way she was looking at him… like _she_ wanted to rip all of _his_ clothes off and have _her_ way with _him_.

"Because… I want so much more from you, Briseis. I want… no I _need _to knowthat you feel the same way—"

"Wait—shh," she said suddenly, putting a finger up to his lips to silence him. He looked down at her confused, but then realizing that she was listening to something. It sounded like the army was returning from battle. "Achilles… I can't stay here… once Agamemnon sees that I am gone once _again_, he will definitely know right where to look, and this time he will surely kill me."

Achilles thought for a second, before getting up and grabbing a large black robe from the corner. "Come here," he said.

She did as he said and he wrapped the robe around her small frame, making sure to conceal all of her auburn hair inside of the hooded part. He turned her around, and he saw her look at him expectantly. "Come… I will take you to my cousin's hut."

"Patroclus?" she asked.

He nodded his head, and grabbed both of her hands before saying, "Now, walk quickly, but not suspiciously…" he told her in a loving voice, and Briseis couldn't help but smile at him as she nodded her head. Achilles smiled and gave her one last kiss, before dropped her hands before exiting the hut before her.

They walked the short distance to Patroclus' hut, and were met with a very angry man.

Hey guys! How was that chapter! They got a lil more physical! Lol There's gonna be like five or so more chapters… I'm really gonna try to keep the updates comin! Okay, but please tell me how I'm doing, **PLEASE REVIEW!**


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